The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has dismantled a suspected terrorist network by arresting a man who claims to be a doctor and holds a medical degree from China. According to officials, this individual was allegedly involved in producing a highly dangerous chemical poison known as ‘Ricin’. Investigations have revealed that his handler is believed to have connections with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), a branch of the global terror organization Islamic State. Along with the doctor, two other individuals have also been taken into custody as part of the operation.
One of the accused, Dr. Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, along with two others — Azad Suleman Sheikh and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem — had conducted reconnaissance of several sensitive sites in Lucknow, Delhi, and Ahmedabad, according to a senior ATS officer on Sunday.
“Dr. Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed is highly educated but radicalized. He had planned to raise funds and recruit people as part of a conspiracy to carry out major terrorist attacks,” said Gujarat ATS DIG Sunil Joshi.
The accused also revealed that their handler sends weapons shipments across the Pakistan border using drones, Joshi added.
Acting on a tip-off, an ATS team arrested Dr. Saiyed — a native of Hyderabad — near Adalaj in Gandhinagar on November 7. They recovered two Glock pistols, a Beretta pistol, 30 live cartridges, and four litres of castor oil from his possession, Joshi said.
Saiyed, who obtained his MBBS degree from China, had been preparing a highly lethal poison called Ricin to carry out a major terrorist attack, according to Joshi. He had already begun his research, acquired the necessary equipment and raw materials, and started the initial chemical processing. Ricin is a toxic substance that can be produced from the waste left after processing castor beans.
Joshi said that Saiyed, along with Sheikh and Saleem, had come to Gujarat to exchange weapons and had conspired to conduct terrorist activities involving Ricin.
During interrogation, Saiyed confessed that he was planning terrorist acts and had collected weapons from a secluded area in Kalol, Gandhinagar district.
According to the officer, Saiyed’s handler, identified as Abu Khadija, is an Afghan national associated with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and is also in contact with several individuals in Pakistan. Sheikh and Saleem, both residents of Uttar Pradesh, were arrested in Banaskantha district for allegedly supplying weapons to Saiyed, based on information found on his mobile phone.
Joshi added that Sheikh and Saleem had obtained the weapons from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan and delivered them to Saiyed.
The ATS also seized three mobile phones and two laptops from the accused.
“The call detail records (CDR) and interrogations show that the accused had been conducting surveillance of sensitive locations for the past year,” Joshi said. “So far, we have not found any evidence of a local sleeper cell linked to them, but we are investigating all possible connections, both local and international.”
He further explained that investigators are still examining the accused’s possible connections with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) is working closely with both central and state-level security agencies in several parts of the country to trace others who may be involved in the case and to carry out additional arrests as the investigation progresses.
All three suspects have been booked under several serious laws, including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, and the Arms Act. The main accused, Saiyed, has been placed in the custody of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) until November 17 for further interrogation and investigation. The other two accused individuals are expected to be brought before the court on Sunday, where the authorities will seek their remand for questioning as well.
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