India: Gujarat ATS Arrests Five More In JeM Module Case, Total Held Rises To 13

New Delhi: Indian counter-terrorism police in the western state of Gujarat have arrested five more people accused of links to the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), bringing the total number of arrests in the case to 13. The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) announced the arrests on Friday.

Jaish-e-Mohammed is a militant organisation banned in India and designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations and the United States. It has been blamed for previous attacks in the Kashmir region and elsewhere in India.

“The five men arrested on Friday were identified as Bilal Abid Shera, Mohammed Aiyub Kadiwal alias Mohammed Khadiyasan, Mohammed Shafi Mukhi alias Shafi Chapi, Mohammed Hasan Karadiya alias Hasan Haidarpuri and Mohammed Aiyub Sunasara alias Mohammed Khali,” Deputy Inspector General of Gujarat ATS, Sunil Joshi, said at the press conference regarding the arrests in connection with the Jaish-e-Mohammed module case.

The men were arrested after being named during the interrogation of eight people held earlier this month in the same case. “During interrogation, it was revealed that five additional accused, along with Ahmad and Zakariya, shared similar intentions,” He added.

Background: The Earlier Arrests

On July 3, Gujarat ATS arrested eight people accused of ties to JeM from locations across Gujarat and the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh. The agency said the group had been working to build an active JeM network inside Gujarat to further the organisation’s activities.

The eight men arrested earlier were named as Ahmed son of Abdullah Ghaziwala, Ibrahim son of Mohammad Hussain Ghagha, Mudassir son of Abdullah Ghaziwala, Zakaria Durani son of Mohammad Ammar Ghagha, Mufti Faujaan son of Ismail Dauwa, Mohammad Amin Shera, Mohammad Abdul son of Rehman Sawdi and Bilal Mohammad son of Ammar Ghagha, according to the Gujarat ATS.

A case was registered against all eight under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, a federal anti-terrorism law, and under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, India’s criminal code, the group said.

The investigation traces back to an earlier police complaint filed with the Gujarat ATS. “Based on information received from technical devices and other sources, some individuals living in Banas Kantha, Patan, were in contact with Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan,” Joshi said, referring to a district in northern Gujarat near the border with Pakistan.

The accused were translating radical material into the Gujarati language and had set up a local group called Darul Islam Gujarat, which Joshi described as a front used to recruit new members on behalf of JeM.

Recoveries And Alleged Pakistan Contacts

Raids on the homes of the eight men arrested earlier turned up material linking them to the group. “When the eight accused were interrogated and searches were conducted at their residences, we recovered Jaish-e-Mohammed flags, books by Maulana Masood Azhar, and letters written by the accused to Masood Azhar,” Joshi said. Masood Azhar is the founder and leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed, believed to be based in Pakistan.

The ATS recovered around 130,000 rupees (roughly 1,550 US dollars) in cash, which Joshi described as terror funding. “Detailed interrogation revealed multiple connections to Pakistan on their phones,” he said, adding that instructions given to the accused included buying a vehicle and renting a house on the outskirts of the city.

Alleged Bomb-Making Preparations

One of the men arrested earlier, Mohammad Amin Shera, and his associates had begun preparing for an explosion, which investigators say led them to the five men arrested on Friday. “These individuals purchased chemicals, mainly potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal, from online portals and the local market. They mixed these in specific ratios to prepare gunpowder.” According to ATS.

The group was also working on detonation devices. “They were working on various detonation mechanisms, including timing devices, researching wire quality, selecting and welding pipes to fill with explosives, and conducting practical experiments to test detonation,” Joshi said, adding that the accused were “actively trying to gain expertise in making explosives.”

Court Custody And What Comes Next

The five men arrested on Friday appeared in court, which granted police further custody for questioning. “These five accused have now been arrested. They were produced before the court, which granted us approximately eight days of remand,” Joshi said.

The ATS is now working with local district police to seize additional evidence linked to the accused. “We are currently working with local district police to seize items in their possession,”He added.

The case remains under investigation. Gujarat ATS has not released further details on the exact districts where Friday’s arrests took place or the current custodial status of the eight men held on July 3.