Gujarat ATS nabs three alleged al-Qaida militants

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) apprehended three alleged militants linked to al-Qaida in Rajkot city, officials said on Tuesday.

The ATS received information that three men from West Bengal were working in the Soni Bazar locality of Rajkot, from whom the police recovered a semi-automatic country-made revolver and 10 rounds, the officers said.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of the Gujarat ATS raided a house where the three men Abdul Shukar Ali Shaikh from Bardhaman district of West Bengal, Aman Malik, a native of Hugli in West Bengal, and Saif Nawaz from Bardhaman were living.

According to the ATS officers, they had been living in Rajkot for eight months and were allegedly trying to find and radicalise local youths. 

They were linked to another alleged module of al-Qaida busted in 2021 in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur.

Around three months ago, their handler, named Abu Talha, was caught in Bangladesh for running the terror module.

The statement reads that Malik had found Shaikh and Nawaz, whom he joined in the alleged terror outfit.

ATS officers said that the three were supposed to launch a terror attack only after getting instructions from their handler.

The police have booked the three for waging war against the Indian government, along with the charges under the Arms Act, and have begun an investigation.