Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], January 27 : The Gujarat Police on Tuesday arrested one individual for alleged 'anti-national activities', and uncovered a suspected criminal conspiracy, according to an official statement.
The accused has been identified as 22-year-old Faizan, originally a native of Uttar Pradesh's Dundawala in Rampur District. Faizan was currently working as a tailor while residing in the Zarakwad area of Navsari.
The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Harsh Upadhyay of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), received confidential information regarding the accused. According to officials, he has been "arrested for orchestrating a plot which involved attacking and killing certain well-known youths in UP with weapons to "spread terror", as well as conspiring to separate Kashmir from India through Jihad." To execute this conspiracy, he had stockpiled deadly weapons. Upon higher officials of the Gujarat ATS being informed of the plan, orders were issued to investigate and take legal action.
Based on this, a team led by Dy SP Harsh Upadhyay, including PWSI Nikunj Joshi and PSI DV Rabari, conducted a technical analysis of the information. During this, a suspicious Instagram profile used by Faizan, "al.faizangaza", was identified.
Following further analysis, a team comprising PI N.R. Brahmbhatt, PI C.H. Panara, PI K.B. Desai, and PSI A.P. Parmar conducted a covert inquiry and confirmed the suspect's presence in the identified area. Subsequently, a joint team led by DySP Harsh Upadhyay, accompanied by ATS PI P.B. Desai, PI V.R. Jadeja, PWI Mrunal Shah, and the Navsari Police team, conducted a raid and apprehended the suspect.
The accused was brought to the Navsari Special Operations Group (SOG) office for further interrogation.
A search of his mobile phone revealed inflammatory literature supporting the ideology of banned terrorist organisations Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Al-Qaeda (AQ), the release stated.
Officials have allegedly recovered a photograph depicting the Red Fort with a black Islamic flag replacing the Tricolor, with "AL FAIZAN CHOUDHARY" written in English at the bottom; a map of the Indian subcontinent where the area of India (excluding Kashmir) is shown in black with Arabic text, while Kashmir depicts the flag of "Azad Kashmir"; a photo with white English text stating: "Of India in Delhi, the death of all these names written is very close, and we will show you how to kill them Inshallah".
A world map background with a black Islamic flag over the globe, Arabic or Urdu text, and "Hizb ut-Tahrir" written in English, photos of various individuals with their faces circled (marking them as targets), and chats with "Mohammed Abu Bakar", containing inflammatory videos of terrorist Farhatullah Ghori, propaganda videos from the Jaish-e-Mohammed media cell, and audio files of radical speeches in Urdu were also recovered by the police.
According to the release, apart from all that, 01 Pistol and 06 Live Rounds were recovered from Faizan's possession. 29 pages of suspicious literature containing text in Arabic or Urdu script and photos were found. Translation revealed highly objectionable content inciting "Jihad" and misleading youth, with titles such as "Why Al-Qaeda?", aimed at attracting recruits to banned organisations, officials said.
During interrogation in the presence of Panchas (witnesses), Faizan revealed that he had been in contact with a person named "Mohammed Abu Bakar" for the last 6-7 months via WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram.
About three months ago, he joined a group via an Instagram ID. In this group, photos and names of individuals who allegedly insulted the Prophet were circulated with instigation to kill them. Faizan forwarded this to others and conspired to kill them. Faizan and Abu Bakar followed Maulana Masood Azhar and the banned outfit JeM, allegedly watching and uploading Jihadi videos of Mufti Abdul Rauf Asgar on Instagram.
Regarding the weapon, he confessed to purchasing the pistol and cartridges six months ago from an unknown person in his native Uttar Pradesh. His primary motive was to identify and carry out Targeted Killings of those who allegedly insulted the Prophet, the release said. Primary investigation reveals that the arrested accused Faizan Shakil and the wanted accused Mohammed Abu Bakar conspired to wage war against the Government of India and incite violence.
Inspired by terrorist organisations like JeM and Al-Qaeda, they planned to spread terror within a specific community. They also attempted to incite people towards armed rebellion and Jihad to separate Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh from the Union of India. Consequently, legal action has been initiated by Gujarat ATS under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and the Arms Act.
Further investigation regarding other individuals involved in this conspiracy is underway.