Eight alleged members of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were arrested by Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). The arrested members were allegedly conspiring to establish a network of the Pakistan-based banned terror outfit in the state. The ATS nabbed the individuals, two of them aged 18 and 19, from various districts of the state as well as adjoining Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday, they said, adding Gujarati translation of a book written by JeM founder Masood Azhar was among the materials seized from them.
Seven of them were arrested from Gujarat and one from Madhya Pradesh. They were produced in a court in Kadi town of Mehsana district and remanded to ATS custody for 14 days, Assistant Public Prosecutor B H Prajapati said.
“Eight members of JeM were arrested from different places. The accused had formed a JeM-linked organisation in Gujarat under the name Darul Islam Gujarat Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM),” ATS Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sunil Joshi told reporters.
Acting on a tip-off, five special ATS teams, in coordination with police in Banaskantha, Mehsana, Navsari and Patan districts of Gujarat and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, conducted simultaneous raids across multiple locations.
The ATS alleged that the accused were encouraging people in their respective areas to join JeM and remained in contact with two Pakistani handlers identified as Abdullah and Mohammad Umar.
#WATCH | Ahmedabad: Gujarat ATS DIG, Sunil Joshi, says, "Recently, DySP Harsh Upadhyay of the Gujarat ATS received information that individuals from the Banaskantha-Patan region were linked to the Pakistan-based organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed; they were propagating its ideology… https://t.co/4szqhnNRrP pic.twitter.com/u4GKwDRPaD
— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2026
The arrested men were identified by the ATS as Ahmed Abdullah Gajiwala (19), Mudassir Abdullah Ghaziwala (22) and Ibrahim Mohammad Husen Ghagha (30), all residents of Banaskantha district; Zakariya Durani Mohammad Ammar Ghagha (21), Mufti Faujan Ismail Dauwa (40) and Mohammad Amin Shera (21), all residents of Patan district; Mohammad Abdul Rahman Savdi (22), a resident of Navsari district; and Bilal Durani Mohammad Ammar Ghagha (18), a resident of Dewas in Madhya Pradesh.
“Ahmed and Ibrahim were initially detained near a highway on the Mehsana-Banaskantha. Based on the information provided by them, the remaining accused, who were already identified, were subsequently arrested,” Joshi said.
“The accused received Rs 3 lakh in funding from JeM, a portion of which was allegedly used to purchase a second-hand car that had not yet been transferred into any member’s name,” the IPS officer stated.
Investigators also noted that the group was translating JeM literature into Gujarati to facilitate the spread of the outfit’s jihadi ideology, the DIG Joshi maintained. “Gujarati translation of Masood Azhar’s book ‘Dars-e-Jihad’, allegedly prepared by Ibrahim and Zakariya, was among the seized materials,” Joshi said.
Intelligence-led Operation
Addressing the media, Gujarat ATS DIG Sunil Joshi said the agency had received intelligence indicating that certain individuals from Banaskantha, Patan and nearby areas were allegedly associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed and were actively spreading the organisation’s ideology in Gujarat.
Following the input, a special team led by ATS SP K. Siddharth carried out technical surveillance and human intelligence-based verification before identifying the suspects. Simultaneous raids were then conducted at multiple locations across Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, leading to the arrest of all eight accused.
Alleged Links with Pakistani Handlers
According to the ATS, digital evidence recovered from the accused’s mobile phones allegedly showed that they were in contact with Pakistan-based handlers and were receiving instructions from them. Investigators claim the accused were encouraging like-minded individuals to join JeM and expanding a radical support network.
The ATS further alleged that the group had translated JeM literature into Gujarati to widen its local reach. Handwritten translations, letters, propaganda material and hand-made JeM flags were among the items seized during the searches.
Funding and Logistics Under Investigation
Investigators alleged that the accused had received ₹3 lakh in funding through a “dead drop” mechanism. The money was allegedly meant to facilitate the purchase of a four-wheeler to provide logistical support whenever required. A second-hand vehicle allegedly purchased using these funds has been seized.
Alleged Formation of Local Group
The ATS claimed the accused had formed a local group named “Darul Islam Gujarat – Jaish-e-Mohammed,” with the eight arrested individuals serving as its initial members. According to investigators, the objective was to establish a strong support base capable of assisting the banned organisation’s activities in the future.
Meeting with Kashmir-linked Contact
The agency also alleged that two to three months ago, some of the accused met a person from Kashmir in Vadodara on the instructions of their Pakistani handler. The identity and role of that individual are being investigated.
No specific Attack Target Identified Yet
DIG Sunil Joshi said that, so far, investigators have not found evidence of a specific attack target. However, the probe suggests that the accused were allegedly attempting to build a structured network capable of providing logistical and organisational support to the banned terror outfit in Gujarat.
ATS: 11th Terror-related Case in Three-and-a-half Years
According to the ATS, this is the 11th terror-related case registered by the agency since 2023. In the previous ten cases, 30 accused had been arrested. With the latest operation, the total number of arrests in terror-related investigations conducted by Gujarat ATS over the past three and a half years has risen to 38.
The accused are being produced before a court for remand, and further investigation is being carried out by ATS Dy SP S.L. Chaudhary.