ED raids locations in four states in Ranchi RSS office bomb attack case | India News

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out raids in four states including Delhi, Jharkhand, Bihar and Karnataka in connection with a money laundering probe linked to a petrol bomb attack at the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) state office in Ranchi’s Nirvanpur area in June, people familiar with the development said.Pakistan-backed Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) is under the scanner for their alleged involvement in the case, the above people added.Also Read: RSS-BJP meet in Lucknow cautions workers against letting Opposition set agenda SBN was designated as a terror group by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday for its anti-India activities including cross-border smuggling of arms, explosives and narcotics and recruitment of Indian youth for terrorist activities.The network is allegedly run by gangster-turned-terrorist Shahzad Bhatti, 45, a resident of Lahore who is currently believed to be in Dubai.Intelligence officials said he is backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), operates from different locations and runs a well-oiled cross-border network for these activities.The ED officials said that they have launched a probe in the matter based on the National Investigation Agency (NIA) case. The NIA has been probing the bomb blast conspiracy since June.Unknown persons had hurled petrol bombs at RSS office under the Chutia police station area of Ranchi on June 16/17 night. One bomb landed on the roof of the building and caused a fire, while another fell near the entrance but no damage was done. Nobody was injured in the incident.Two suspects, Saif Ansari and Aman Ansari, were arrested from a railway station when they were trying to flee while a third person, Sayam Sujan was caught later.Also Read: UK gurdwara hails ‘meaningful interaction’ with RSS chief Mohan BhagwatPreliminary intelligence assessment is that one of the arrested persons had stayed in Dubai for about six months during which he came in contact with the network of Shahzad Bhatti, a Pakistani gangster-terrorist and was most likely currently in touch with a handler called ‘Rana Sahab’.Last month, the MHA said that 253 people were detained across 14 states, and over 80 first information reports (FIR) and over 200 arrests recorded against SBN as part of the ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards cross-border terrorism.