Gujarat ATS foils ‘lone wolf’ terror conspiracy; tailor from UP arrested

The accused, Faizan Shaikh, was in the final stages of planning targeted killings across Uttar Pradesh for 'insulting' Prophet Mohammed, according to officials

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat ATS has foiled a terror conspiracy to target individuals in Uttar Pradesh and arrested a person alleged to be operating as a “lone wolf” after being influenced by extremist ideologies linked to the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, officials said on Tuesday.

The accused, Faizan Shaikh, was in the final stages of planning targeted killings across Uttar Pradesh for ‘insulting’ Prophet Mohammed, according to officials.
The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) recovered a pistol and six cartridges from his possession, which he reportedly intended to use for high-profile assassinations.

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A tailor by profession, 22-year-old Shaikh, originally from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, was residing in Navsari, Gujarat, where he was arrested by the ATS on Sunday.
“He operated like a lone wolf. Whenever he found someone passing remarks against the Prophet, he would conspire with people connected to his group to kill that person,” ATS DIG Sunil Joshi told reporters.

A primary investigation showed that Shaikh and the wanted accused Mohd Abu Bakar planned to strike terror in a specific community. The conspiracy involves inciting people for an armed rebellion and Jihad to separate Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh from the union of India, Joshi said.
“After being radicalised by ideologies of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Al Qaeda terror groups, Shaikh had illegally procured a pistol and ammunition to execute killings of a selected group of individuals to spread terror and fear,” he added.

The seizure of 29 pages containing “suspicious literature”, containing Arabic/Urdu text, and photos, revealed highly objectionable content inciting Jihad and attracting young people to work for proscribed organisations like Al Qaeda, he said.

Prima facie, Shaikh and Abu Bakar had conspired to wage a war against the Government of India and incite violence.