Interrogation has also revealed the four were earlier affiliated to a Sri Lankan radical militant outfit called National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), which was banned by the Sri Lankan government in April 2019 after the Easter bombings.
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Monday arrested four Sri Lankan nationals suspected to be Islamic State (IS) operatives allegedly plotting to carry out terror attacks at the behest of a Pakistan-based handler. The ATS also recovered three loaded pistols from Nana Chiloda in Gandhinagar based on revelations made by the four accused during their interrogation.
The four, detained from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport in Ahmedabad Sunday around 8 pm, were remanded in 14 days police custody by an Ahmedabad magistrate court Monday.
The four accused have been identified as Mohammad Nusrath (33), Mohammad Faris (35), Mohammad Nafran (27) and Mohammad Rasdeen (43). “The ATS has seized four passports, two mobile phones, Indian and Sri Lankan currencies, and an ISIS flag from their luggage,” he said. The four have been booked for offences under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the IPC, and the Arms Act.
The arrests came a day ahead of Ahmedabad hosting the qualifier and eliminator rounds of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera on May 21 and May 22 respectively.
According to Gujarat Director General of Police Vikas Sahay, the accused revealed that they were acting on the directions of ‘Abu’, a Sri Lankan native who resides in Pakistan. They first came in touch in February. The accused continued to correspond with the suspected handler, an alleged ISIS leader, over Protonmail.
“After their complete radicalisation, Abu encouraged them to launch attacks in India, which they agreed to and were preparing for suicide bombing as well. Abu also gave them four lakh in Sri Lankan currency,” said Sahay.
Claiming that the four have been “completely radicalised” in the IS (Islamic State) ideology, the officer said they arrived from Colombo in Chennai on May 19 from where they took a flight to Ahmedabad.
The accused were allegedly to pick up arms from Nana Chiloda after which they would be informed about the further course of action, Sahay added. “…the phones had certain photos and locations of Nana Chiloda in Gandhinagar. According to them, their Pakistani handler was going to keep arms there and photos where the arms are kept and location of it were shared. ATS officials went to the location overnight and items, including three pistols with a star sign on the pistol butt with the number and make erased, were found. Twenty cartridges were also found. All three pistols, with FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which is in Pakistan) written on the cartridges, were loaded.”
Seeking the custody of the accused, the police submitted before the magistrate that they are investigating if the accused were to be sheltered by anyone else in Ahmedabad or elsewhere, whether there are others involved in the conspiracy, the financial and logistical support the accused received or were going to receive and from whom. Efforts are also on to identify ‘Abu’ and the modes of radicalisation, the people who procured the weapons, and if similar weapons have been arranged elsewhere.
In addition to probing if the four were planning any suicide attack, the ATS also highlighted the need to probe the extent of radicalisation the accused have undergone.
“Evidence shows their commitment to join the Islamic State (IS), follow the path shown by Abu Bakr Baghdadi and teach a lesson to attackers who commit atrocities against Muslim community as well as to Jews, Christians and members of the BJP-RSS,” ATS stated in a press release.