Alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives brought to Palanpur:ATS recreates events in Bhagal village; probe into eight suspect deepens

Security agencies have stepped up surveillance against possible terrorist activities ahead of the Rath Yatra. The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested eight people across the state over alleged links with the banned terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed. Following the arrests, Bhagal village in Palanpur taluka of Banaskantha district has come under the scanner. The three accused arrested from Bhagal village were brought back there during ATS remand as part of the investigation. The agency reconstructed the sequence of events at the site and collected evidence to verify the accused’s movements, contacts and other aspects of the case. Of the eight arrested, six have been taken to Palanpur, where searches are being conducted at their homes. Searches conducted at homes of four accused Following the arrest of eight alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives, the ATS intensified its investigation in Bhagal village after it emerged that five of the accused were from the area. The ATS brought the accused to the village and carried out searches for more than one and a half hours at the homes of two brothers — 22-year-old Mudashir Abdullah Gajivala and 19-year-old Ahmed Abdullah Gajivala. Investigators also searched the home of their maternal uncle, Ibrahim Mohammedhussain Ghagha. According to the ATS’s preliminary findings, Ibrahim Mohammedhussain Ghagha had previously been associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed and had allegedly received training in Kashmir. The ATS is also expected to search the homes of three other accused. Investigators are questioning all relevant individuals, and officials believe the investigation could lead to further significant revelations. Eight arrested during ATS operation on 3 July On 3 July, 13 days before Ahmedabad’s Rath Yatra, the Gujarat ATS carried out coordinated operations in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and arrested eight alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives. According to the ATS, the accused were attempting to expand the activities of the banned terrorist organisation in Gujarat. Acting on intelligence inputs, the ATS formed five separate teams and conducted simultaneous raids. The accused were arrested from Banaskantha, Mehsana, Navsari and Patan districts in Gujarat, as well as Dewas district in Madhya Pradesh. During interrogation, the ATS alleged that the accused were acting on instructions from handlers based in Pakistan. Case registered under UAPA and BNS The Gujarat ATS has registered a case against all eight accused under Sections 13, 17, 18, 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, along with Sections 61 and 148 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to the ATS, the accused were involved in anti-national activities. Court grants 14-day police remand The accused, alleged to be associated with the banned terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed, were arrested near Nandasan on the Mehsana-Ahmedabad Highway. The ATS detained all eight suspects from Palanpur, Siddhpur, Navsari and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh. All eight were produced before a court in Kadi, which granted the ATS 14 days’ police remand for further interrogation and investigation.
Allegedly translating terrorist literature into Gujarati The ATS launched the investigation using technical surveillance and human intelligence. According to investigators, the accused were not only encouraging others to join Jaish-e-Mohammed but were also allegedly translating the organisation’s literature into Gujarati to spread its ideology more widely at the local level. One accused was a teacher, two were Madrasa students Juned, a trustee of a madrasa in Khadiyasan village in Siddhpur taluka of Patan district, said that three of those arrested had been associated with the institution. According to him, Fauzan Dauwa had been working as a teacher at the madrasa for the past four years, while Mohammed Amin Sher had been studying there for seven years and Zakariya Durani for the past four years. He said the teacher lived in Room No. 5, while the two students stayed in Rooms 21 and 35.