Chemical attack plan not ruled out by Gujarat ATS after three ISIS terrorists including Hyderabad doctor arrested, guns seized

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Sunday arrested three alleged terrorists linked with ISIS from Gandhinagar and Banaskantha. Two of them were native to Uttar Pradesh while the third belonged to Telangana's Hyderabad, Gujarati media reports said. Three pistols and 30 cartridges were seized from the trio along with lethal chemicals, they added.

 

The three arrested men were identified as Dr Ahmed Syed Zeelani, Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Suleman, and Azad Suleman Saifi. Dr Ahmed Syed was practising as a physician after obtaining his medical degree from China, Sandesh said in a report. The investigation has revealed that all three men were highly radicalized.

 

The 35-year-old doctor was the leader of the group and was in charge of collecting funds and planning the attack. The ATS reportedly found out that they were conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks across the country from Adalaj in Gandhinagar. The trio were being watched by the Gujarat ATS for some time now based on specific intel, a report said. They had reportedly conducted reconnaissance in various places over the past year and had reportedly travelled to Kashmir.

Chemical attack plan not ruled out

The terrorists had arrived in Gujarat on the night of November 6 to exchange weapons. It was the doctor who was picked up first after having travelled to Gujarat from Hyderabad by road. The chemical was recovered from his car and the whereabouts of the other two were spilled during interrogation, the news report said. It was from Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Suleman and Azad Suleman Saifi that the guns and cartridges were recovered in Banaskantha.

 

The chemical seized from their possession was later proved to be poisonous Ricin, and the investigators are not ruling out the possibility of the trio planning to make a chemical weapon for a terrorist attack, the report said. For the unversed, Ricin is extremely toxic and is often cited as being more poisonous by weight than cyanide. If inhaled, injected, or ingested in purified form, it can cause death. 

 

 

 

The arrested individuals were also in contact with foreign operatives and were communicating with one Abu Khadija through Telegram. Dr Syed was responsible for collecting funds and planning the attack. Investigation is ongoing into the source and movement of the funds," the Sandesh report read.

 

Abu Khadija, with whom they were in touch through social media, has Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) roots and is suspected to have connections in Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, it was not immediately established if he was acting as the handler of the three.

 

The court has approved police remand of the accused Syed till November 17, and the other two terrorists will be produced in court today, reports said.

India