Gujarat: Arrested IS terrorists had links with 3 women who indulged in ‘illegal’ trading

Ahmedabad: Days after arresting two ISIS terrorists from Surat, Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has now been able to dig the backgrounds of these terrorists. ATS in their investigation have found that they had a connection with three women.

Of these three, one is arrested terrorist Qasim’s girlfriend. Whereas, second woman Shazia, is Qasim’s friend.

Shazia has even earlier helped a few terrorists flee by crossing Bangladesh border.  The third woman is an air hostess who did ‘illegal trading’ for terror funding.

The suspects, arrested in Surat, have been identified as Mohammad Kasim Stimberwala and Ubed Ahmed Mirza.

While Stimberwala used to work as a laboratory technician with a hospital in Ankleshwar town, Mirza is a practicing lawyer with the Surat district court and also owns a hotel there.

The ATS found that the two had planned a big attack and had reconnoitered several religious places.  They also which claimed that they were plotting an attack on a Jewish synagogue in Khadia area of Ahmedabad in "very near future".

They were booked under IPC sections 120-A (criminal conspiracy), 121-A (waging or attempt to wage war against Government of India) and 125 (Waging war against any Asiatic power in alliance with Government of India) of the IPC, besides under the Unlaw ful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), an official said.

ATS sleuths believe that Srimberwala and Mirza are "highly radicalised by the fundamental ideology of the Islamic State for the last many years and are actively planning to cause terrorist acts".

Both the suspected operatives of the IS were under the influence of Abdullah el-Faisal, a radical preacher based in Jamaica, the official said quoting the FIR.

As per the FIR, el-Faisal was earlier convicted for spreading hatred in the UK and then deported to Jamaica. He was detained in Jamaica on the charges of persuading youths to travel to Syria to take up the cause of Jihad.

Surveillance of their social media accounts had revealed that the duo were attracted to the extreme ideology since the last three-four years, according to the FIR.

They were also in contact with one Shafi Armar, an ISIS handler who is wanted in various cases of serial blasts triggered by Indian Mujahideen (IM) and is currently believed to be out of India, the official said.

ATS suspects that both the accused were making "intensive efforts to radicalise other youths in India using various mediums, such as social media, one-on-one meetings and telephonic calls".