Gujarat ATS Arrest 3, Claims were Planning Major Terror Attacks with Weapons and Chemicals

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Nov 9: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Sunday arrested three terrorists linked with ISIS from different places in Gujarat for conspiring to carry out major terrorist attacks with weapons and chemicals across the country, an official said.

According to the Gujarat ATS, the arrested individuals had been on its radar for the past year, and were arrested while they were in the process of supplying weapons.

“The terrorists had come to Gujarat to exchange weapons and were reportedly planning attacks at multiple locations across the country. The three arrested suspects belong to two separate modules, and investigations have begun to identify the potential targets and locations where they intended to carry out the attacks,” the ATS said in a statement. Officials confirmed that investigations are currently underway to unearth more details about their operations.

The accused one of whom hails from Hyderabad and the other two from Uttar Pradesh, were in Gujarat to exchange weapons and had conspired to carry out terrorist activities involving a potent poison, ‘ricin’, Gujarat ATS DIG Sunil Joshi said. The accused men have also disclosed that their handler sends the arms consignment via drone from across the Pakistan border, he said.

Acting on a tip-off, an ATS team arrested Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, a resident of Hyderabad in Telangana, on November 7 with two Glock pistols, a Beretta pistol, 30 live cartridges, and four litres of castor oil, near Adalaj in Gandhinagar, Mr Joshi told reporters. On interrogation, Saiyed revealed that he was plotting to carry out terrorist activities and had collected the weapons from an isolated place at Kalol in Gandhinagar district.

The official said Saiyed’s handler, Abu Khadija, was a resident of Afghanistan associated with the ISKP (Islamic State Khorasan Province), and he has also been in contact with several individuals from Pakistan. “To execute a major terrorist attack, Saiyed, who earned his MBBS degree in China, has been preparing a highly lethal poison named ‘ricin.’ He had already started necessary research, procured equipment and raw materials, and initiated the initial chemical processing,” Mr Joshi said.

He said Saiyed is highly educated and radicalised, and had planned to collect funds and recruit persons as part of a conspiracy to carry out major terrorist activities. The ATS team also arrested persons who supplied weapons to Saiyed based on information collected from his mobile phone, he said.

The other accused, Azad Suleman Sheikh and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem, both hailing from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested in Banaskantha district, the official said. The duo had allegedly procured weapons from Hanumangadh in Rajasthan and supplied them to Saiyed, Mr Joshi said.

“The preliminary probe has revealed that the accused had recced several sensitive locations in Lucknow, Delhi and Ahmedabad. When questioned about the source of weapons, they disclosed their handler sends the arms consignment via drone across the Pakistan border,” he said.

The official said the trio have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, and Arms Act, and Saiyed has been remanded in ATS custody till November 17, while the two others will be produced before a court later on Sunday to seek their remand to investigate whether they were involved with the ISKP, he said adding that the Gujarat ATS was also investigating the case in different states.

Earlier this year, the Gujarat ATS had apprehended five members of the terror outfit Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), including a woman from Bengaluru Shama Parveen Ansari who was allegedly operating an online terror module with links to Pakistani handlers. The other four terrorists were identified as Fardin Sheikh, Saifulla Qureshi, Mohammad Faiq and Zeeshan Ali and were arrested on July 22 for allegedly promoting the radical AQIS ideology on social media platforms.

The officials had also recovered an illegal semi-automatic pistol and live ammunition from the possession of Zeeshan Ali, one of the key accused arrested. According to Gujarat ATS officials, the weapon was seized during a follow-up operation at Zeeshan Ali’s residence in Noida on the basis of disclosures made during questioning. The group was accused of inciting violence in the name of “Ghazwa-e-Hind”, calling for an armed uprising against India’s elected government, and encouraging violent acts targeting non-Muslims.

Shama Ansari accused of amplifying digital propaganda of the Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), was detained from her home in the RT Nagar area of Bengaluru on July 29. Investigators allege that she was in contact with Pakistani operatives through phone and email, and used social media platforms to promote content linked to the AQIS.

According to the ATS, Ms Ansari managed two Facebook pages and an Instagram account with a combined audience of over 10,000 followers. Through these channels, she allegedly posted material calling for an “armed revolution or jihad” against the Indian government, and sought to provoke communal discord.

Ms Ansari was linked to one of the four people apprehended by the Gujarat ATS in July from Delhi, Noida, and Ahmedabad and Modasa in Gujarat for allegedly disseminating extremist content, including videos promoting AQIS ideology through social media platforms. These videos were aimed at encouraging Muslim youth to reject India’s democratic framework and advocate for the imposition of Islamic law (Sharia) through violent means, it was alleged.

Mr Joshi said one of the accused Mohammad Faiq from Delhi, had uploaded edited versions of such videos to his Instagram account. The original content, which included calls for jihad and attacks within India, was allegedly sourced from two Facebook pages and one Instagram handle. Further investigation revealed that these three social media accounts were operated by Ms Ansari, Mr Joshi said.

Officials allege that Ms Ansari was actively posting speeches by AQIS leader Maulana Asim Umar and former Al-Qaeda ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki, both known for promoting extremist views. The content reportedly called for jihad against the Indian state, referenced “Ghazwa-e-Hind”, and urged violence against non-Muslims. Mr Joshi added that MS Ansari had also circulated a video featuring Maulana Abdul Aziz of Pakistan’s Lal Masjid, in which he encouraged an armed uprising to dismantle the Indian government and provoke divisions along religious and caste lines.