Gujarat: Two held for ‘IS-inspired plan’ to attack synagogue

The ATS officials identified the accused as Ubed Ahmed Mirza, 29, a criminal lawyer who lives in Surat’s Saiyedpura, and his associate Kasim Stimberwala, 31, a resident of Badekha Chakla, also in Surat.

The ATS officials alleged that “both of them are radicalised by the ideology of the Islamic State” and were planning a “lone-wolf attack at Magen Abraham Synagogue of the Jewish community in Ahmedabad.” ATS officials said Stimberwala had conducted a reconnaissance of the synagogue on September 12.

The ATS officials caught Stimberwala near Ankleshwar railway station and Mirza

was arrested in Surat. They have been booked under section-13,16 and 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Section 121A (waging war against the nation) to be read with Section 120B (conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code.

According to the FIR registered by the ATS, Stimberwala had resigned as an echo technician at Sardar Patel Hospital, Ankleshwar and was “planning and preparing for immigration to Jamaica in the immediate future and indulge in jihad under the guidance of Abdullah el-Faisal, a radical preacher based in Jamaica”.

The FIR also claimed that Stimberwala was in touch with the preacher.

According to the ATS, the “two accused are involved in ISIS activity since 2013-2014” and they came in contact with “Shafi Armar alias Zahed al-Hindi”. “Armar is wanted in several bomb blasts cases carried out by the Indian Mujahideen. The FIR mentioned that in 2014, four youths had been arrested in Kolkata, who revealed names of Stimberwala and Mirza “for having an active role in their radicalisation”.

The FIR states that the four youths told interrogators that Zahed-al-Hind, alias of Shafi Armar, was in touch with Ubed Mirza for radicalisation and providing logistics. One of the arrested youths had contacted Mirza to arrange for accommodation in Kolkata. They were on their way to Bangladesh to join the Islamic State. The ATS officials said since this revelation in 2014, these two accused were under surveillance.

Mirza also runs a restaurant in Surat called Dawat and practises criminal law in the district court. The FIR alleged that Mirza came in touch with Shafi Armar through Facebook.

According to the ATS, Mirza and one of his associates had gone to Delhi to purchase some materials for his restaurant. During this visit, he had called someone identified as Faisal in Aligarh for procuring firearms. The ATS claimed that the duo’s plans came under telephone surveillance. In one such surveillance, they were caught instructing their two associates — Shahid Malaiwala and Shabbir — to procure weapons from a person called Mohammed.

The FIR alleged that the two were also radicalising local youths “by holding one-to-one meetings, through social media forums, telephone calls etc to spread the wicked ideology of the Islamic State. The FIR also has purported telephonic conversations which, according to ATS, reveal that “Ubed Mirza and Kasim Stimberwala are posing an imminent threat to security of the state”.

The FIR mentions one such conversation allegedly between a person called Shahid and Ubed Mirza and concluded that “this communication clearly reveals that both the named accused persons are actively involved in act of radicalisatioln and conspiring for the Islamic State.”

The FIR said that Ubed was also “discussing” methods of raise funds illegally “apparently for funding terror activities” through smuggling gold, smuggling of cigarettes through the ports of Gujarat, smuggling of old cars through Chennai port in “collusion with Zabiullah”.

According to the FIR, Mirza and Stimberwala had asked Zabiullah to identify a Jewish target in Bengaluru.