Ricin terror plot: Gujarat ATS seizes ‘hazardous’ liquid in drum from Hyderabad ‘workshop’, heads to UP

While a full accounting of the seized items from Saiyed’s home in Fortview Colony, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, was not immediately available, the premises has been previously described as a “workshop” by the Gujarat ATS authorities where the main accused in the Ricin terror plot was said to be trying to isolate and process concentrated Ricin from Castor beans (Ricinus communis), allegedly to carry out a major terror attack in India.

Speaking on the contents of the blue drum, a senior official said they had information that it contained a hazardous substance which is why they had refrained from even opening it and had directly transported it to the ATS headquarters in Ahmedabad for an accounting and from there, dispatched it to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).

The blue drum containing “hazardous substance”.

It is important to note the ATS had earlier seized 4 litres of Castor Oil from Saiyed’s possession along with two Glock pistols, one Beretta pistol, 30 live cartridges, during his arrest earlier in November.

According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ricin is listed in Schedule-1 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) it implements and monitors. There is currently no antidote for Ricin intoxication anywhere in the world.

The seizure of these items, including seed oil press machine, the liquid and other machinery that point to a crude level home based operation, have further bolstered the claim of investigators that the accused was trying to formulate Ricin, which is a highly toxic substance earlier used in assassinations and threats to two US Presidents and the Pentagon, but not in any mass casualty event reported till date. However, in 2018, German officials had arrested a couple from Cologne for allegedly producing Ricin for a mass terror attack.

Notably, the Indian Express has previously reported that ATS officials believe the accused had not yet decided on a delivery mechanism for the Ricin attack and so he may not have successfully managed to process or refine it at the time of his arrest.

However, officials stressed that the real nature of the seized items, including the supposedly “hazardous” liquid, could be confirmed only after the FSL gave its results.

Regarding the two people from Uttar Pradesh, while announcing their arrest on November 9, ATS DIG Sunil Joshi had said, “Both individuals were found to harbour extremist ideology. It was revealed that these individuals had obtained the cache of weapons from Hanumangarh, Rajasthan. During preliminary interrogation, it came to light that they had conducted reconnaissance of several sensitive locations in Lucknow, Delhi, and Ahmedabad. When questioned about the source of the weapons, they disclosed that their handler sends the arms consignment via drone across the Pakistan border.”

Notably, the places the two men had allegedly reconnoitred included the RSS office in Lucknow, the Azadpur vegetable Mandi in Delhi and the Naroda fruit market in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

The Gujarat ATS had, on November 8, arrested Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed (35), Azad Suleman Sheikh, (20), and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem Khan (23), and has declared wanted, Abu Khadija, who is based in Afghanistan and associated with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). All have been booked under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Arms Act.

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