Gujarat ATS arrests eight alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives across two states to foil active terror network

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad has arrested eight alleged members of the banned Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed. Operating across Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, the module—which includes teenagers—was allegedly attempting to set up an active terror network in the state

Ahmedabad: Eight alleged members of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), two of them aged 18 and 19, have been arrested by Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) for seeking to establish an active network in the western state, officials said on Friday.

The Gujarat ATS arrested the individuals from various districts of the state as well as adjoining Madhya Pradesh, they said.

---

Police said the accused were working to establish an active terror network in Gujarat. Seven of them were arrested from Gujarat and one from Madhya Pradesh.

“Eight accused were arrested on Thursday from different districts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. They were members of banned terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed and working on behalf of it to set up an active terror network in Gujarat,” ATS officials said.

The arrested individuals were identified by the ATS as Ahmed Abdullah Gajiwala (19), Mudassir Abdullah Ghaziwala (22) and Ibrahim Mohammad Husen Ghagha (30), residents of Banaskantha; Zakariya Durani Mohammad Ammar Ghagha (21), Mufti Faujan Ismail Dauwa (40) and Mohammad Amin Shera (21), residents of Patan district; Mohammad Abdul Rahman Savdi (22), a resident of Navsari district; and Bilal Durani Mohammad Ammar Ghagha (18), a resident of Madhya Pradesh.

A case has been registered against the eight accused under sections 13 (punishment for unlawful activities), 17 (punishment for raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (punishment for conspiracy), 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Sections 148 (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 145) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) were also invoked against them. Section 147 of the BNS deals with the offence of waging war, attempting to wage war, or abetting the waging of war against the Government of India, said the officials.