The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has apprehended eight individuals for their purported involvement with the banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and for striving to establish an operational network in the state to advance the organization’s agenda. These arrests, conducted in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, were a result of an inquiry that prompted the filing of a case at the ATS Police Station on Thursday under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Officials stated that all eight detainees are affiliated with the proscribed outfit and were actively engaged in setting up a network in Gujarat to promote its terrorist activities.
Those taken into custody have been identified as Ahmed Abdullah Gajiwala alias Abu Ubaida, Ibrahim Mohammad Husen Ghagha alias Abu Hamza, Mudassir Abdullah Ghaziwala alias Abu Aya, Zakariya Durani Mohammad Ammar Ghagha alias Ibn Ammar alias Zakariya Palanpuri, Mufti Faujan Ismail Dauwa alias Mufti Sahab, Mohammad Amin Shera alias Amin Palanpuri, Mohammad Abdul Rahman Savdi alias Mohammad Palanpuri alias Abu Unisa, and Bilal Durani Mohammad Ammar Ghagha alias Abu Dujana, Abu Sufiyan, Abu Zundal, and Umar bin Khattab. This recent operation by the Gujarat ATS is part of a series of counter-terrorism efforts undertaken in the state in recent times.
In a separate incident earlier this year, the ATS and Navsari Police arrested a 22-year-old individual from Uttar Pradesh in Navsari, accusing him of possessing jihadi literature, a firearm, and ammunition, and maintaining contact with an individual associated with extremist propaganda. Investigations revealed digital content supporting banned groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammed, leading to charges under the UAPA, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Arms Act. Furthermore, in a November 2020 operation, the Gujarat ATS detained three suspects from Adalaj in Gandhinagar for suspected ties to the ISIS terrorist organization, seizing weapons and averring that the suspects were plotting attacks across the country. The inquiry into the recent arrests is ongoing, with further information anticipated.
