The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday carried out searches at 18 locations across Punjab and Haryana as part of its investigation into three terror-gangster network cases linked to Pakistan-based terrorist Shahzad Bhatti.

According to the agency, the searches were conducted in nine districts across the two states. During the operation, NIA teams examined several individuals and gathered information related to the ongoing investigations.

The agency seized multiple digital devices, documents and other material connected to communication networks, financial transactions and activities of individuals who are currently under the NIA’s scanner in the three cases.

The NIA stated that all the evidence and information collected during the searches have been sent for scrutiny, forensic analysis and technical examination. The objective is to uncover the larger cross-border conspiracy behind the terror network.

As part of the ongoing investigation, the agency has also issued notices to certain individuals, asking them to join the probe for further questioning. The investigation is aimed at exposing the wider conspiracy allegedly being operated by gangster-turned-terrorist Shahzad Bhatti from across the border.

The NIA said its searches were “focused on identifying Bhatti's associates and others linked with the terror conspiracy related to all three cases.”

The agency’s investigation has so far linked Bhatti to the grenade attack that took place in March 2025 at the residence of social media influencer Roger Sandhu in Jalandhar, Punjab. In April this year, the NIA filed a chargesheet against Bhatti as an absconder along with another accused in the case.

Further investigations have revealed Bhatti’s alleged role in two other major incidents in Haryana. According to the NIA, he masterminded the explosion at the Women Police Station in Sirsa in November 2025 and the blast at the Baldev Nagar police station in Ambala in January 2026.

In the Sirsa police station explosion case, the agency filed a chargesheet against nine individuals in May 2026. The chargesheet included Bhatti and another Pakistan-based handler, Sohail Ahmad alias Sohail Baloch.

The Baldev Nagar police station case is related to a car bomb explosion. During the investigation, one of the arrested accused was found to have been in contact with Bhatti, further strengthening the agency’s case regarding his involvement in the attack.

The NIA said that investigations in all three cases are continuing. The agency is working to identify every individual connected to the terror network and uncover all links associated with the attacks. The latest searches form part of its ongoing efforts to dismantle the network and expose the full extent of the cross-border conspiracy.