Who is ‘Rana Bhai’? ISI-linked recruiter tied to Pakistani gangster hunted across 5 states

DEHRADUN: More than a week after the arrest of a Dehradun garage worker for allegedly sharing geotagged locations of sensitive military and police establishments with ISI-linked Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti, national security agencies and police departments in at least five states have zeroed in on a shadowy figure known only as "Rana Bhai", the man believed to be handling Bhatti's recruitment work on Indian soil.

Investigators said that the arrested Dehradun accused, Vikrant Kashyap, 29, told them that Rana first contacted him through social media, drew him into the gang and arranged for an Italian-made pistol to be delivered to him in Delhi. Kashyap had allegedly been tasked with attacking a senior Supreme Court lawyer and targeting offices of Hindu organisations in the capital with grenades.

The name first surfaced publicly when Uttarakhand police's special task force arrested Kashyap on April 10. Citing his interrogation, STF SSP Ajai Singh had then said Kashyap was recruited over social media by a close aide of Bhatti named Rana. What has now sharpened the focus on this figure is that his name has surfaced again, independently, in a separate case probed by Delhi Police's Special Cell.

The recent arrests of two more alleged members of the module by Delhi Police from Gwalior and Delhi on April 16 and 18, respectively, again led investigators to the same name. "The two arrested by Delhi Police were aged 19 and 21. During interrogation, they too said they were recruited over social media by a person called Rana, whom they referred to as Rana Bhai," an officer of a central agency involved in the probe told TOI. He added, "This has drawn major focus on this shadowy figure, who is believed to be leading the recruiting module for Bhatti's gang."

The officer said an 18-year-old man arrested earlier in March by Delhi Police's Special Cell had also been recruited online by the same module. "In all three cases, Rana had tasked them to carry out targeted killings and grenade attacks against prominent persons and establishments," he said. "Bhatti's accomplices in India had also provided pistols to these accused, including the Dehradun one and the two arrested by Delhi Police a few days ago."

Investigators said information on Rana had been shared with other national agencies, and police departments in five states. TOI had earlier reported that Uttarakhand STF found at least eight to 10 suspicious contact numbers while examining Kashyap's confiscated mobile phone.


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