Gujarat Police has arrested a 27-year-old Maulvi (cleric) named Sohail Abu Bakar Timol from Surat on Saturday, 4th May 2024. He is accused of conspiring to kill suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma, party MLA from Hyderabad’s Goshamahal T Raja Singh, Sudarshan News editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke, and Sanatan Sangh national chairman as well as social media activist Updesh Rana. The Maulvi considered them ‘gustakh’ (blasphemers). Sohail maintained contact with supervisors living in Pakistan and Nepal to execute his nefarious plans. He was also using a foreign SIM card to evade security agencies. Now, further revelations are expected during his interrogation.
According to the Gujarat Police, the police teams were on high alert for the 2024 Lok Sabha Election. Meanwhile, Surat’s crime branch observed the suspicious activities of a cleric by the name of Mohammad Sohail who is also known as Sohail Abu Bakar Timol. He is originally from Nandurbar, Maharashtra. He served as a Hafiz (a Muslim who knows the Quran by heart) in a madrasa in Surat and imparted religious education through tuition to Muslim students in Karjan-Amboli village. Sohail also worked as a manager in a thread factory in Diamond Nagar, Surat.
The cleric had been in touch with handlers in Pakistan and Nepal over the previous year and a half, the police uncovered during their inquiry. The handler in Nepal has been identified as Shahzad. The cleric talked with each of them via a SIM Card issued from Laos. He used WhatsApp and other social media platforms to communicate. Sohail was ordered by his superiors to ‘straighten out’ those who were defaming the honour of the Islamic Prophet.
WhatsApp group had members from Indonesia to Kazakhstan
The foreign handlers named Suresh Chavhanke, Nupur Sharma, T Raja Singh, and Updesh Rana as the cleric’s targets and urged Sohail to murder them by slitting their throats similar to Kamlesh Tiwari. The maulvi was promised Rs 1 crore in lieu of these killings. He also started his own WhatsApp group and added people who shared his radical ideology at the behest of the handlers. The cleric posted offensive remarks about Hinduism in this group, along with a picture of Upadesh Rana and an appeal to kill him. He is also charged with altering pictures of India’s flag. Sohail also referred to the 6th December (Babri demolition) as “Black Day.” He uploaded maliciously doctored images of Hindu gods and goddesses in his group. It’s also believed that he has contacts in Vietnam, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and other countries in addition to Pakistan and Nepal.
He was also in the process of ordering arms through foreign handlers. However, he was nabbed by the Surat Crime Branch before he could carry out his deadly plot. He has been booked under sections 153(A), 467, 468, 471, 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66(D), 67, 67(A) of the Information Technology (IT) Act at the D.C.B. police station of Surat. Surat Crime Branch is probing the case. It is suspected that he might disclose more information after further interrogation.
Follower of Owaisi, lover of Hamas and fan of Salman Khan
OpIndia looked into the activities of Maulvi Sohail Abu Bakar Timol and his handlers. He used the picture of Hamas terrorists as his WhatsApp profile picture in which many masked terrorists could be seen prostrating in front of lethal weapons. He had written “Owaisi’s follower” in broken English as an introduction to his True Caller.
His handler in Nepal, Shahzad was discovered to have a liking for Bollywood actor Salman Khan and had utilised a still from the movie “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” featuring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as his WhatsApp display picture.
WhatsApp’s use in the conspiracy
The police are also investigating the WhatsApp group operated by the cleric. Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot stated that the 27-year-old cleric had been caught in the Chowk Bazar area of Surat. He added that after looking through the cleric’s phone, it was immediately apparent that he was inspired by extremist ideology. It is suspected that he was involved in the death threat issued to Surat Resident Updesh Rana last month. The accused were using some apps which were not easily traceable. All of them used to post pictures and videos of their target in their group and collectively plotted to commit the heinous crime.