Ahmedabad: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe into the alleged ricin poison terror plot from the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Saturday.
Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, Azad Suleman Sheikh, and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem were arrested by the Gujarat ATS on November 9 last year for their alleged role in a plan to carry out a major terrorist attack with weapons and chemicals.
The three were booked under the stringent UAPA, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act.
“The MHA has ordered to hand over the UAPA case concerning the ricin chemical plot to the NIA,” K Siddharth,
SP (ATS), told PTI.
Ricin is a highly poisonous substance that can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans.
Gujarat ATS, which was probing the case, arrested Dr Saiyed, originally from Hyderabad, near Adalaj in Gandhinagar on November 7 with two Glock pistols, a Beretta pistol, 30 live cartridges and four litres of castor oil, officials had earlier said.
The other accused, Sheikh and Saleem, both hailing from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested in Banaskantha district for allegedly supplying weapons to Dr Saiyed.
Investigation revealed that Saiyed’s handler, Abu Khadija, was from Afghanistan and associated with the ISKP (Islamic State Khorasan Province), and he had also been in contact with several individuals from Pakistan.
Saiyed, who got his MBBS degree in China, had been preparing ricin to execute a major terrorist attack, investigators said. He had already begun the necessary research, procured the equipment and raw materials, and initiated the initial chemical processing.