‘White-collar’ terror probe: Radicalised doctors formed outfit ‘Ansar Interim’ to carry out attacks
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘White-collar’ terror probe: Radicalised doctors formed outfit ‘Ansar Interim’ to carry out attacks")
The doctors and preachers had met at Eidgah in Srinagar in April 2022 and decided to form their own terror group Photograph: (PTI)
The NIA investigation has revealed that Dr Umer-un Nabi was planning to place a powerful Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) in a crowded place, either in the national capital or at a site of religious importance, and flee.
The probe into the ‘white-collar’ terror module busted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police has revealed that the radicalised doctors arrested in the case had formed a new terror group named ‘Ansar Interim’ to carry out subversive activities in the Union Territory as well as in the hinterland, officials said on Sunday. The indoctrinated doctors had formed the group after all their links with active terrorists dried up due to various reasons. The probe is now being carried out by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). It was also revealed that Dr Umer-un Nabi, the man behind the wheel of the explosive-laden car that exploded outside the Red Fort on November 10, killing over a dozen people, had unsuccessfully tried to join terror groups in 2016 and 2018 but failed, they said.
Doctors and preacher met at Eidgah in Srinagar, in April 2022
After piecing together all evidence, officials said the accused doctors, Muzamil Gannie, Umer-un Nabi (now dead), and Adeel Rather, along with his brother Muzzafar Rather (absconding), as well as Maulvi Irfan, Qari Aamir, and Tufail Gazi, had met at Eidgah in downtown Srinagar in April 2022, where they decided to form their own terror organisation.
They named the group ‘Ansar Interim’, said officials, adding that among militant groups the term ‘Ansar’ is commonly associated with the globally banned terror outfit Al-Qaeda.
Adeel was named the ‘Ameer’ (chief) of the group, Maulvi Irfan as ‘Deputy Ameer’, and Gannie as treasurer.
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The arrested doctors and preachers told the interrogators that they formed the new group because all their contacts with active terrorists had been severed. Umer became the coordinator while Gannie handled the finances and procurement.
Group started procuring material for explosives in 2023
In 2023, the group decided to procure fertiliser from the Sohna and Nuh areas of Haryana, and on the instructions of Umer, NPK (commonly known as potassium nitrate) was also bought from a chemical shop in Faridabad.
The arrested doctors also revealed during questioning that Umer started watching online videos to learn how to make Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and managed to prepare Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP), one of the most notable peroxide explosives, which has been used in several terrorist attacks as the explosive filling for IEDs.
Officials said Adeel then started to look for members and roped in Danish, alias Jasir, from South Kashmir. Adeel took Danish to a rented accommodation within Al-Falah University in Faridabad, where they saw Umer and Gannie preparing TATP explosive materials.
Danish backed out from carrying out ‘fidayeen’ attack
Umer then tried to persuade Danish to carry out a ‘fidayeen’ (suicide) attack, but he backed out at the last moment, citing his poor economic condition and the belief that suicide was forbidden in Islam.
Umer, a 28-year-old doctor from Pulwama, was the most radicalised member and key operative in the network spanning Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, said officials who suspect that he was planning a powerful Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) blast.
Evidence indicates that he was planning to place a VBIED in a crowded place, either in the national capital or at a site of religious importance, and flee.
Fortuitously, Srinagar Police’s meticulous investigation led to Gannie’s arrest, and the seizure of explosives, following which the terror plot fell apart.
The sudden development and arrest caught the group off guard, and Umer panicked, finally ending in the premature blast outside the Red Fort.
Srinagar Police busted white-collar terror network, foiled group's plans
The interstate white-collar terror network was busted after a small incident of JeM posters being pasted on the walls in Bunpora, Nowgam, on the outskirts of Srinagar, on October 19.
Srinagar Police registered a case and reviewed CCTV camera footage, leading to the arrest of three locals, Arif Nisar Dar, alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar, alias Shahid, all of whom had prior stone-pelting cases.
Their interrogation led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic turned Imam from Shopian, who had allegedly supplied the posters and used his access to radicalise the doctors.
