Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested eight men suspected of building a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) network across the state, in a coordinated operation carried out just ahead of the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra, which takes place in Ahmedabad on July 16 and draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims through the city’s old quarter. Seven of the accused were picked up from districts across Gujarat, including Banaskantha, Patan and Navsari, while an eighth, Bilal Durrani, was arrested from Dewas district in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, according to a detailed account of the raids published by Hindusthan Post.
What investigators say they found
According to both Hindusthan Post’s reporting and a separate account carried by Dainik Jagran, investigators recovered roughly 254 digital files from an encrypted messaging app on the suspects’ phones, including what they describe as jihadist literature, inciting speeches, audio-video clips and JeM flags, along with two books attributed to JeM chief Masood Azhar and Urdu-language membership letters addressed to him. Officers say material was being translated from Urdu into Gujarati, apparently for local recruitment, and that the group had organised itself under the name \”Darul Islam Gujarat Jaish-e-Mohammed.\” The two reports also converge on a financial detail: roughly Rs 3 lakh is alleged to have moved through suspected terror-funding channels, with authorities now tracing the transactions to identify who supplied the money and whether it originated outside India.
The accused range in age from teenagers – two are 18 and 19 – to men in their forties, and some are reported to have had ties to madrasas in Patan and Navsari. Investigators allege the group maintained contact for roughly six months with handlers described as based in Pakistan. Cases have been registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, covering provisions on membership of an unlawful association, raising funds for terrorist acts and criminal conspiracy, in addition to relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Why the timing matters
Gujarat authorities routinely step up security ahead of the Rath Yatra given the scale of the event and the sensitivity of its route through Ahmedabad’s old city, and officials have publicly framed this operation as preventive rather than reactive to any specific plot uncovered mid-event. That framing matters: the ATS has stated that the network was in an organisation-building and recruitment phase rather than caught in the act of planning an imminent attack, though the digital evidence and cross-border contact allegations, if borne out in court, would represent a significant network rather than a handful of isolated individuals. For residents attending the Yatra or living along its route, the practical effect is the visibly heavier police and paramilitary presence, foot patrols and surveillance that Gujarat Police have already begun deploying in the run-up to July 16.
Outlook
Officials quoted in the reporting have said further arrests \”cannot be ruled out\” as the digital evidence is examined further and the funding trail is traced. As with any case built substantially on seized digital material and UAPA charges, the allegations outlined here reflect the investigation’s findings at this early stage and will need to hold up through formal charge-sheeting and trial; how the case develops through the courts, and whether the funding trail leads to identifiable backers, will be the key markers to watch.
Sources: Hindusthan Post, Dainik Jagran
This report was compiled and written with AI assistance from publicly reported sources, and reviewed for accuracy.