ATS ARRESTS GUJ BROTHERS FOR ‘LINKS’ WITH ISLAMIC STATE

AHMEDABAD: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Sunday morning arrested two brothers from Saurashtra region of Gujarat for having alleged links with the Islamic State, a terror group.

The security agency said it has, in the process, foiled an attack they were planning on Chotila temple in Surendranagar district. “Wasim Ramodia was picked up from his home at Nehrunagar in Rajkot, and his brother Naem from Bhavnagar city. Both were in touch with the Islamic State network through Twitter and Facebook. They wanted to flee to Syria after carrying out the attack on Chotila temple,” said an ATS official.

Both Wasim and Naem were on the ATS radar for nearly two years. Police said Wasim’s wife, who he married in 2015, has also come under the scanner.

The brothers were brought to the Rajkot commissioner of police’s office for preliminary interrogation, and then taken to Ahmedabad. ATS personnel recovered gunpowder, jihadi literature and masks from their possession. Their computers and cellphones have also been seized.

The police said both Wasim and Naem are well educated, with master’s and bachelor’s degrees in computer application respectively. Their father, Aarif, serves as an umpire in domestic cricket matches.

...Both were in touch with the Islamic State network through Twitter and Facebook. They wanted to flee to Syria after carrying out the attack on Chotila temple. AN ATS OFFICAL