‘Black flag, digital literature’ found from Lakhimpur Kheri home of Ricin plot accused | Ahmedabad News
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Friday confirmed that they had recovered a black flag from the home of Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem Khan, a 23-year-old resident of UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri, one of the three individuals arrested in reference to a failed terror plot involving the suspected use of the lethal chemical agent Ricin.
After recovering a blue barrel crammed with an “unknown” mysterious liquid they claimed was hazardous, a number of chemical substances, at the least six bottles of Acetone – an industrial solvent – a seed oil press machine and different gear akin to sieves, funnels, smaller liquid-filled containers and one thing that appears like a mixer from the home/workshop of most important accused Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed in Hyderabad, Gujarat ATS had despatched groups to Uttar Pradesh to look the residences of different two accused – Azad Suleman Sheikh (20), a tailor from Shamli, and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem Khan of Lakhimpur Kheri.
On Friday, the ATS launched images of the flag which had inscriptions in Arabic – 4 strains in white on a discipline of black. Another digital flag was additionally found as a masthead on one of Saiyed’s social media accounts. These photos went viral on social media with claims that they had been flags of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Social media customers wrote that the highest line notably seems to be comparable in content material to flags of numerous terrorist teams. One of the components that influenced this notion was an announcement from the ATS mentioning that Saiyed’s handler – a person named Abu Khadija from Afghanistan – is believed to be related to Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), a Central Asian department of ISIS.
The Gujarat ATS hasn’t formally established any conclusive proof on the affiliation of the trio with any main terrorist organisation.
Regarding the flag seized from Suhail’s home, sources advised The Indian Express, “It is just a flag with religious connotations. It has to do with the belief, an interpretation of a hadith (quotes of Prophet Muhammad) that there will be a ghazwa-e-hind (battle in the Indian subcontinent) where the righteous will ride horses and carry black flags. This concept is frequently invoked by multiple terror groups.”
Apart from the flag, the Gujarat ATS found some literature pertaining to “How to Stay Anonymous”, and one other PDF titled, “Security and intelligence course by a mujahid brother Abu Abdullah bin Adam”. Sources within the ATS stated this literature had been despatched to Saiyed by his handler for tips about “how to avoid detection by intelligence and law enforcement agencies”.
The ATS has additionally shared CCTV footage of Saiyed’s actions round Hotel Grand Ambience in Mirzapur space of Ahmedabad City earlier than his arrest.
Story continues beneath this advert
Ricin Investigation
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Gujarat has not but accomplished the chemical evaluation of the suspect liquid and different supplies seized from Saiyed’s home in Hyderabad. Officials stated whereas this investigation has been accorded prime precedence, FSL researchers wish to be fully certain of the make-up and potential of the chemical substances.
The ATS had not found any Castor Beans (Ricinus communis) – used to course of Ricin – on the home of Saiyed, however had found a number of kgs of Castor Beans mash that’s leftover waste after oil is extracted from them. It is that this waste that’s developed into Ricin, the toxin for which there’s presently no antidote wherever on the planet. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ricin is listed in Schedule-1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
While the Gujarat ATS had found 4 litres of Castor Oil from the automobile being pushed by Saiyed on the time of his arrest, sources have advised The Indian Express that the oil was from 1.5 kg of Castor Beans and the waste mash from that batch had been recovered at his home.
The case to this point
The ATS had on November 8 arrested Saiyed, Azad Suleman Sheikh and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem Khan, and declared Abu Khadija needed. All had been booked beneath sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act. The ATS had seized two Glock pistols, one Beretta pistol, 30 stay cartridges, and 4 litres of castor oil saved in a 10-liter plastic container from Saiyed. Meanwhile, Shaikh and Khan are accused of not solely receiving the weapons from Pakistan, but additionally allegedly reconnoitring the RSS workplace in Lucknow, the Azadpur vegetable Mandi in Delhi and the Naroda fruit market in Ahmedabad as potential websites of a terror assault. On November 18, about 12 hours after being despatched to judicial custody at Sabarmati Central Jail, most important accused Saiyed was injured after a violent altercation with three different undertrial prisoners.
