Police have arrested a Kashmiri doctor and recovered around 360 kilograms of explosives along with a large stock of arms and ammunition from his rented accommodation in Faridabad, officials said on Monday, according to the PTI.
The operation was conducted jointly by the Faridabad Police and the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
The suspect, identified as Muzammil Shakeel, who worked as a teacher at a university in Dhouj in Haryana, is also allegedly wanted in a case involving pro–Jaish-e-Mohammed posters in Srinagar, officials said, according to the PTI.
Faridabad Police Commissioner Satender Kumar Gupta said that the arrest followed a coordinated intelligence-led operation between the two forces. The explosive material recovered is suspected to be ammonium nitrate.
From the suspect’s room, officers seized one carbine rifle, two automatic pistols, 84 live cartridges, five litres of chemical substances, 20 battery-fitted timers, and 14 bags believed to have contained explosives, police said, as per the PTI.
The seized explosives and weapons have been sent for forensic examination, while security agencies are probing whether the accused had links with any terrorist organisations.
The university, a privately run institution recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC), is located around 45 kilometres from Delhi. The university authorities are expected to cooperate with the ongoing investigation, the news agency reported.
Meanwhile, in an another incident, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested three men, including a doctor, for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack involving weapons and toxic chemicals, an official said on Sunday, reported the PTI.
According to Gujarat ATS DIG Sunil Joshi, the suspects — one from Telangana and two from Uttar Pradesh — were in Gujarat to exchange weapons and had conspired to use a deadly poison, ricin, in their planned attack. The accused also claimed their handler was sending arms consignments across the Pakistan border using drones, the news agency reported on Sunday.
Acting on a tip-off, the ATS team detained Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, a resident of Hyderabad, Telangana, near Adalaj in Gandhinagar on November 7.
Officers seized two Glock pistols, a Beretta pistol, 30 live cartridges and four litres of castor oil from him, as per the PTI.
During interrogation, Saiyed allegedly admitted that he had been plotting terrorist activities and had collected the weapons from an isolated spot in Kalol, Gandhinagar district. His handler, identified as Abu Khadija — an Afghan national linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) — was reportedly in contact with individuals in Pakistan, Joshi said, according to the PTI.
“To execute a major terrorist attack, Saiyed, who holds an MBBS degree from China, had begun producing a highly lethal poison known as ricin. He had already started research, procured the necessary equipment and materials, and initiated the chemical process,” Joshi added, reported the PTI.
The ATS described Saiyed as “highly educated and radicalised” and said that he was planning to raise funds and recruit individuals for a larger terrorist conspiracy, the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)