Gujarat ATS Arrests Five More Accused Linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed

Patan: The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested five more persons for their alleged links to the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), taking the total number of arrests in the case to 13.

The newly arrested accused have been identified as Bilal Abidbhai Shera, Mohammad Ayub Kadiwala alias Mohammed Khadiyasan, Mohammad Palanpuri alias Khali Ayub Sunsara, Shafia Rais Mukhti alias Shafi Chapi, and Mohammad Hasan Kardia alias Hasan Haidarpuri. All five were apprehended from Khadiyal village in Siddhpur taluka of Patan district, officials said on Thursday.

They were produced before Judicial Magistrate R.M. Bhatia at Kadi in Mehsana district, who remanded them to ATS custody till July 24.

The latest arrests come after the ATS arrested eight alleged JeM operatives on July 3 as part of its investigation into a suspected terror module. Investigators are now probing the group’s alleged links to bomb-making materials, JeM literature, and the procurement and concealment of items suspected to have been intended for terror-related activities.

Public Prosecutor P.R. Dantani told the court that custodial interrogation was necessary as one of the newly arrested accused had allegedly attempted to assemble a time bomb. He said bomb-making materials and Urdu literature linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed are yet to be recovered.

Speaking to reporters, Dantani said the names of the five accused surfaced during the investigation. He alleged that one of them had tried to make a time bomb and possessed JeM-related literature. The ATS is now trying to recover the missing materials and documents and establish how they were procured.

According to the prosecutor, the accused had also allegedly carried out an unsuccessful trial of a crude time bomb. Investigators are examining where the explosive material came from, where it was hidden, and how the group obtained extremist literature linked to JeM.

The ATS further alleged that one of the eight accused arrested earlier, identified as Mohammad Amin Shera, had supplied JeM-related material to the newly arrested suspects, while another accused was familiar with bomb-making techniques.

DeshGujarat