The Maharashtra anti-terror squad on Saturday arrested a man hailing from Thane in connection with an alleged ISIS-inspired terror module, that wanted to carry out mass attacks at big events using poisonous chemicals, members of which the ATS had arrested earlier in the week.
The man was apprehended from Mumbra in neighbouring Thane district on January 26 and a laptop, tablet computer, hard disk, pen drives, router, mobile phones and diaries were seized from his residence.
Just a few days prior to the Republic day, the Maharashtra ATS had busted this ‘ISIS-inspired’ group and arrested eight suspected members of the group and detained a minor boy, following searches in Thane and Aurangabad in connection to the same.
The group, which had engineers in its ranks, had planned to prepare toxic chemical mixtures and blend those with food or water at big events to cause a mass casualty.
The ATS had also seized liquids, chemical powders, a chemical bottle with ‘hydrogen peroxide’ written on it, six knives, six pen drives, six laptops, over 24 mobile phones, several gadgets, WiFi routers, DVDs, CDs, hard drives, graphics cards, modems and computer RAMs (random access memory) which had been then sent to the forensic science laboratory for examination.
This arrest has been made following the interrogation of these eight earlier arrested men.
“These people had created a terrorist gang inspired by the ISIS called the Ummat E Mohammadiya and had planned terror activities at various places,” the official said without elaborating.