THE NATIONAL Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the ricin terror plot case that was being investigated by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), police said on Saturday.
Sources in the ATS told The Indian Express that an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs had, earlier this week, transferred the case to the NIA and that the handover would take place shortly.
Confirming that traces of Ricin had been found in the forensic tests run on material seized from the Hyderabad-based “home lab” run by prime accused Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, an officer declined to confirm whether the plant-based toxin isolated from castor beans was enough – in quantity or quality – to plan an bioterror attack.
However, the officer that the NIA sought to investigate the matter further.
The Gujarat ATS had, on November 8 last year, arrested Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed (35), Azad Suleman Sheikh, (20), and Mohammad Suhail (23), and has declared wanted another accused, Abu Khadija. All were booked under 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 live cartridges, and four litres of castor oil stored in a 10-litre plastic container from Dr Saiyed.
Meanwhile, Shaikh and Khan are accused of receiving the weapons from Pakistan as well as allegedly reconnoitring the RSS office in Lucknow, the Azadpur vegetable mandi in Delhi and the Naroda fruit market in Ahmedabad, Gujarat as possible sites of a terror attack.
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On November 21, after searches in Uttar Pradesh, the ATS had recovered a “black flag” from the home of Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem Khan, a 23-year-old resident of Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh.
The ATS also found some literature pertaining to ‘How to stay anonymous’, and another PDF titled, ‘Security and intelligence course’. ATS sources said that such literature had been sent to Dr Saiyed “by his handler for tips on how to avoid detection by intelligence and law enforcement agencies.”
