Terror Plot Foiled in Gujarat: IS-Backed Doctor Caught With Ricin Toxin, Drone-Smuggled Guns From Pakistan

A 35-year-old Hyderabad doctor arrested in Gujarat with drone-smuggled weapons from Pakistan and materials to produce the deadly toxin ricin was identified as the central figure in an IS-sponsored terrorist plot to strike multiple Indian cities.

Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has dismantled a major Islamic State (IS)-backed terror module after arresting a 35-year-old Hyderabad-based doctor, identified as Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, who allegedly orchestrated a plot to unleash ricin-based chemical attacks and armed assaults across multiple Indian cities.

Saiyed — who holds an MBBS degree from China — was apprehended on November 8 while driving a silver hatchback near the Adalaj toll plaza on the Ahmedabad-Mehsana road. Inside the vehicle, ATS officers discovered an alarming cache of two Glock pistols, a Beretta, 30 live cartridges, and 4 kilograms of castor-bean mash, the raw ingredient used to extract the deadly toxin ricin.

Ricin, a lethal biological agent derived from castor beans after oil extraction, is considered one of the world’s most potent poisons — with no known antidote. Even minute quantities can cause death if ingested, inhaled, or injected.

Following Saiyed’s arrest, investigators traced two more men linked to the conspiracy — Azad Suleman Sheikh (20), a tailor from Shamli, and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem Khan (23), a student from Lakhimpur Kheri, both in Uttar Pradesh. The duo was nabbed in Banaskantha for allegedly supplying firearms and ammunition to the doctor.

ATS officials revealed that Saiyed had been in contact with Abu Khadija, an Afghanistan-based operative of the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP). “The doctor had been allegedly producing ricin in large quantities, possibly for mass poisoning,” said an ATS officer.

Preliminary probe suggests that Saiyed conducted reconnaissance of sensitive security sites in Lucknow, Delhi, and Ahmedabad, indicating a well-coordinated terror blueprint. The weapons used in the plot were traced to Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, while drones from Pakistan were allegedly used to smuggle arms across the border.

An FIR has been registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act against all three accused and the absconding handler, Abu Khadija.

Saiyed has been remanded to ATS custody till November 17, while the other two suspects will be produced separately before court.