Gujarat's Anti Terrorist Squad, or ATS, has arrested eight men linked to the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed in a coordinated operation spanning Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. According to the ATS, the accused were actively working to build a functioning terror network for Jaish-e-Mohammed inside Gujarat, with the aim of pushing forward the outfit's terror activities. Cases have been registered against all eight accused under Sections 13, 17, 18, 38 and 39 of the UAPA, along with Sections 148 and 61 of the BNS.
The eight men taken into custody
The ATS identified the eight arrested men as follows.
- Ahmed, son of Abdulla Gaziwala
- Ibrahim, son of Mohammad Hussain Ghagha
- Mudassir, son of Abdulla Gaziwala
- Zakariya Durani, son of Mohammad Ammar Ghagha
- Mufti Fauzan, son of Ismail Dawa
- Mohammad Amin Shera
- Mohammad Abdul, son of Rahman Sawdi
- Bilal Mohammad, son of Ammar Ghagha
What the ATS officer said about the network
An officer attached to the Gujarat ATS said, "Eight accused were arrested on Thursday from different districts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. They are members of the banned terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed and were actively working on its behalf to build an active terror network in Gujarat." The statement makes clear that the operation is not confined to eight names alone, it points to a wider attempt to dismantle an entire network before it could take root.
Simultaneous raids across Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
The ATS carried out the arrests through coordinated raids across several districts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh at the same time. Some of the accused were picked up from the Palanpur area of Gujarat's Banaskantha district, while one accused was arrested from Dewas district in Madhya Pradesh. Investigators are now trying to establish exactly how the network was built, who helped the accused set it up, and what they had planned next. Based on what emerges from the interrogation, more arrests connected to the network are considered likely in the coming days, suggesting the investigation is still at an early stage.
Police trace digital records and financial transactions
Investigators are now combing through the digital records of all eight accused, including mobile phones, social media accounts and other online activity, to decide the direction of further questioning. Alongside this, financial transactions routed through the accused's bank accounts are being scrutinised to trace where the network's funding came from and how it moved. The ATS is also working to identify everyone else who may have played a role in setting up this network, as the investigation continues to widen to root out the entire module.
