Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has reportedly activated a lethal underworld-terror combination — Dawood Ibrahim aide Mudassar Hussain Sayyed, alias Munna Jhingada, and ISI asset Shahzad Bhatti — to orchestrate coordinated attacks on Indian soil, according to officials probing the case. The plot came to light on Saturday, 1 June, when the Special Cell of the Delhi Police dismantled a Dawood-backed module and arrested nine individuals in what investigators describe as the most significant underworld-terror nexus busted since the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

How the Module Operated

According to investigators, Jhingada was handling the module's on-ground operations while Bhatti oversaw recruitment and attack planning. The network leveraged the D-Syndicate's existing infrastructure inside India — contacts, logistics chains, and financial conduits — to plan and execute terror operations. Officials say the ISI provided funding and strategic direction, mirroring the support structure it deployed ahead of the 1993 blasts.

Among those arrested was Lama Aung Kami (66), a resident of Nepal, who reportedly met Jhingada during the latter's decade-long incarceration in a Thailand jail. Kami is alleged to have coordinated logistics and finances for the module. Jhingada had originally been arrested in Thailand following an attempt on the life of rival gangster Chhota Rajan. When India filed an extradition request, Pakistan reportedly contested it in court, successfully arguing that Jhingada — who had entered Thailand on a Pakistani passport — was a Pakistani citizen.

The 1993 Parallel: Why Officials Are Alarmed

An official familiar with the investigation said the ISI is 'writing a pretty similar script' to 1993, when it enlisted the Dawood module to carry out the Mumbai serial blasts — an operation that spanned arms smuggling, target selection, logistics, and execution, with the ISI supplying funds and training. After 1993, officials note, the underworld was largely kept away from direct terror execution and was instead used to funnel narcotics revenue to Pakistan-based terror groups. That calculus appears to have shifted.

Notably, this tactical pivot comes as both Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) are described as being 'on the backfoot' — reeling from losses sustained during Operation Sindoor and facing a reported trust deficit with Pakistan's establishment. Officials argue this vacuum is pushing the ISI to rely more heavily on the underworld as a deniable proxy.

Bhatti's Digital Recruitment Drive

Investigators say Shahzad Bhatti has been using social media extensively to propagate anti-India content, making it his primary recruitment tool. He has reportedly targeted young Indians to join the underworld-terror module. Officials describe the Jhingada-Bhatti combination as 'seamless' — Jhingada providing the criminal network and ground knowledge, Bhatti handling ideology and online outreach.

An Intelligence Bureau official warned that the underworld is likely to scale up activities and establish additional modules. Potential targets, according to officials, include religious sites, railway stations, and prominent individuals. A similar modus operandi had surfaced earlier when Indian agencies intercepted intelligence about Dawood being directed to recruit sharpshooters to target Hindu leaders in Gujarat and elsewhere.

What Investigators Say Comes Next

Probe officials say the busted module is likely one of several being assembled simultaneously. The underworld's advantage, they argue, is that its members are typically classified as criminals rather than terrorists, making surveillance and interdiction more complex. Security agencies are expected to intensify monitoring of social media recruitment pipelines and cross-border financial flows linked to the D-Syndicate in the weeks ahead.