Investigations against 31-year-old Parbhani resident Naseerbin Chaus, who was arrested for alleged terrorist links on Thursday, have revealed that his handler was training him to be a lone wolf attacker.
Officials have recovered evidence to indicate that Chaus had assembled improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the instructions of the Syria-based handler.
Chaus, a civil contractor, was arrested at his residence by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for his alleged links with the Islamic State (IS). He has been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, and is currently in ATS custody.
“Investigations have revealed that Chaus’ handler, identified as Farookh, was training him to be a lone wolf terrorist. Farookh and Chaus spent hours chatting about various ways in which he could plan and execute terror strikes in Maharashtra. They also discussed the logistics and equipment that would be needed for such attacks,” said an officer close to the investigation.
“When confronted with the evidence, Chaus confessed to have assembled IEDs under Farookh’s tutelage. He has said that he successfully assembled IEDs after referring to some literature that Farookh sent him, and also sent pictures of these IEDs to Farookh, after which he dismantled the IEDs. He had disposed of some of the materials and was going to do the same with the rest, but was arrested before he could do so,” another officer said.
The ATS suspects that Chaus procured most of the materials required for the IEDs from construction sites, as he was in the civil construction business, and are probing this angle further.
Meanwhile, inquiries are under way with his friends and acquaintances to check if he tried to recruit others for the IS.
