Gujarat ATS nabs man from Srinagar in ISKP module case; five held so far

Ahmedabad, Jun 12 (PTI) The Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad on Monday arrested a man from Srinagar for his alleged association with the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) module, taking the number of people arrested so far to five, including a woman.

Srinagar resident Zubair Ahmed Munshi is arrested and being brought to Ahmedabad on transit remand, the ATS said in a release.

On June 9, ATS busted an ISKP module and arrested three men and a Surat-based woman for their alleged association with the terror group, an UN-designated terrorist organisation.

The three men who were picked up from Porbandar on June 9 also hailed from Srinagar, while the woman is a resident of Surat, the ATS had said. A case was registered against the four under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

The interrogation revealed that Munshi is also part of the ISKP module and all the five were radicalised by their handler Abu Hamza.

The ATS managed to access a cloud storage account of the accused persons and found a video in which they can be seen pledging allegiance to ISKP while flashing sharp weapons, the release said.

As directed by Abu Hamza, the three men- Ubed Nasir Mir, Hanan Hayat Shol, and Mohd Hajim Shah- had reached Porbandar to work as fishermen on boats. They planned to cross the International Maritime Boundary Line and reach Afghanistan via Iran and join ISKP, the ATS said, adding they found mobile phones, tablets and sharp weapons in the bags of the accused.

Their handler had planned to release their pre-recorded videos and photographs after their ‘sacrifice’ in Afghanistan, said the release.

During a search at the woman’s residence in Saiyedpura area in Suart, ATS found copies of various publications promoting radicalisation, including ISKP’s mouthpiece “Voice of Khorasan”, it said, adding the woman “admitted” to having been in touch with Abu Hamza and was also “close” to Munshi.

The seized literature includes the messages which primarily appeal to all Muslims, including women, to engage in Jihad, and shun democracy, besides a warning for the people of other religions, including the residents of the “country of cows”, the ATS said.