Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said a suspected “lone wolf” attack in Mira Road is a case of self-radicalisation, adding that investigators found incriminating material at the aaropi’s home and that he allegedly aimed to target Hindus “in the name of jihad”; police arrested a 31-year-old man who had recently returned from the US for stabbing two guards and handed the case to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad after claims the attack followed the guards’ refusal to recite a religious verse.
In a statement, Fadnavis said investigators recovered incriminating material from the aaropi’s home and that preliminary findings indicate he intended to target Hindus, while the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad and the National Investigation Agency are probing possible wider links as agencies treat it as a suspected “lone wolf” attack. Officials are examining digital evidence and questioning the accused to trace the source of his radicalisation. Authorities said the probe will also look into any individuals or networks that may have influenced him.
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Mira Road Attack Sparks Tension
Police arrested the accused, identified as Jaib Ansari, within three hours of the 4 am attack after he returned to India in 2019 following a long stay in the United States. He allegedly attacked security guards Rajkumar Mishra and Subroto Sen at a construction site in Naya Nagar, Mira Road East, after an argument turned violent, leaving both ghayal. The incident sparked tension amid rumours of a religious angle, prompting the Thane Anti-Terrorism Squad to intervene, while local police shifted the ghayal to hospital.
Police tracked down the accused using CCTV footage and took him into custody, while an officer from Naya Nagar police station said investigators are working to establish the exact motive and noted that the suspect appears highly educated; the Anti-Terrorism Squad is also verifying claims made by some right-wing leaders and examining the aaropi’s background, and officials are questioning him in detail as part of the ongoing probe.
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