Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATS) has arrested four suspected terrorists having links with Al-Qaeda. These people were not only involved in the fake currency business, but were also spreading the ideology of the terrorist organisation. One of the accused was apprehended from a different state.

Sources say that the accused named Mohammad Faiq, Mohammad Faridin, Saifullah Qureshi and Zeeshan Ali resorted to social media and some suspicious mobile apps to propagate the ideology of Al-Qaeda. They used apps that automatically deleted messages, so that no digital evidence remains.

ATS officials said that these four were associated with the terrorist network for a long time and came in contact with each other through social media. When they were discussing terrorist activities in Gujarat, they came to the notice of ATS.

DIG Sunil Joshi said that Faiq, a resident of Delhi, was in contact with a Pakistani Instagram user and was involved in a conspiracy to spread the jihadist agenda in India. In a raid conducted in the Fatehwadi area of Ahmedabad, the ATS recovered a sword and anti-India propaganda literature of AQIS (Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent), which mentioned ‘Operation Sindoor’ — an operation carried out by India against Pakistan.

DIG Joshi further stated that these terrorists aimed to radicalise the youth, incite violence to dismantle democracy, and implement Sharia. Authorities are now investigating whether they received funding from any foreign organisation and what their actual objective was.

According to police officials, content related to AQIS, appeals supporting Sharia, and statements inciting communal tension were found on their social media accounts. They had also shared a video of former AQIS chief Asim Umar, an Indian citizen who was killed in Afghanistan in 2019.

The DIG has termed it a well-planned conspiracy against the sovereignty and democracy of India, aimed at promoting terror and rebellion in the country.

It is worth mentioning that the foundation of Al-Qaeda was laid through an organisation called Makhtab al-Khidmat, which was created by Osama bin Laden’s mentor Sheikh Abdullah Azzam to fund the Afghan Mujahideen. Till 1991, this organisation was active in Afghanistan and Peshawar, Pakistan, and between 1996 and 2001 it operated from Afghanistan under the shelter of the Taliban. Al-Qaeda has carried out many major terrorist attacks across the world.