An alleged ‘Islamic State (IS) sympathiser’ arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had plans to carry out a Peshawar-like attack in India, ATS sources have told The Hindu.
Anis Ansari (24), a software engineer who was arrested by the agency in October, is believed to have told interrogators that he planned to carry out a ‘lone wolf attack’ (individuals undertaking violent acts of terrorism outside a command structure) by bombing a suburban American school in Mumbai and targeting children above 13 years.
His agenda was two-fold: one, to ‘teach’ America a lesson and two, to get the attention of the international press, police say.
“Ansari was angered by America’s military action against the IS. He believes children over 13 years are adults and therefore it was alright to kill them for a larger cause,” a senior ATS official told The Hindu .
Police claim Ansari took orders from a certain person identified as ‘Omar Elahi,’ who is yet to be tracked down. “Elahi indoctrinated Ansari through the Internet,”said the officer.However, Ansari’s parents claim that he is mentally disturbed and requires medical attention. Police have contested this claim.
