The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on May 22 arrested four persons allegedly linked with terror outfit al-Qaeda and exposed al-Qaeda’s module to hire people to spread terror in India.
The four arrested persons are Bangladesh citizens, who have been staying in India illegally, and were apparently working for al-Qaeda in Gujarat, ATS officials said.
“Before they came to India, they were trained by al-Qaeda to recruit local youth by radicalising them,” ATS DIG Deepan Bhadran said. They were also involved in raising funds and resources for the proscribed terror outfit in the country.
They have been arrested from different parts of Ahmedabad under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 38, 39 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Mr. Bhadran told reporters at the ATS headquarters. They have been identified as Mohammad Sojib, Munna Khalid Ansari, Azharul Islam Ansari and Mominul Ansari.
The ATS officials said the gang had been receiving instructions from Bangladesh-based handlers and had forged documents to obtain Aadhaar card and PAN card among other documents.
The ATS has launched a comprehensive probe to dismantle the network of radicalised elements in the country, the officials added.
