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Fire in Ahmedabad cloth market in March was act of terror, conspired by ISI agent: Police

DCB officials have booked four persons and caught three of them who allegedly set the shops in the market on fire
Last Updated 07 April 2021, 13:53 IST

A fire incident on March 20 at a cloth market in the city has turned out to be part of a "terror module" which the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) on Wednesday claimed to have busted.

The DCB officials have booked four persons and caught three of them who allegedly set the shops in the market on fire at the instruction of an agent of Pakistani spy agency ISI. Police said that the suspected ISI agent paid Rs1.50 lakh to the three to burn the market.

DCB officials said that they have arrested Bhupendra Vanzara alias Pravin and Anil Khatik while third suspect Ankit Pal has tested positive for Covid-19 who will be formally arrested after his treatment. Vanzara and Pal were sent in police custody for further interrogation till April 12. They have been booked under various sections of Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act, waging war against the nation (IPC 121), Information and Technology Act, among others. Police said that the trio was contacted through Facebook by a profile "BHAI @ BABA BHAI, @ Baba Bhai Campny @ Raja Bhai Cmpny" whose full identity is yet to be identified. This unidentified person is said to be the ISI agent.

Police said that the unidentified Facebook user had offered Rs 1.50 lakh to the three accused to burn 10 to 15 shops. Police have found that key accused Bhupendra Vanzara allegedly did the recce of the Rewri bazaar in Kalupur and with the help of his friends - Anil Khatik and Ankit Pal - poured petrol in at least seven shops and set them on fire on March 20. Police said that they have been captured in CCTV footage that shows them wearing PPE kit and sprinkling petrol in the market.

The fire is said to have damaged properties worth over Rs 45 lakh. Police said that investigation found that the accused sent a YouTube link of fire news to the Facebook user who sent Rs 1.50 lakh through a courier firm. The money trail originated in Dubai and reached Ahmedabad via Mumbai.

According to police, this Facebook user keeps changing his profile names and has photos of gangsters like Haji Mastan in his profile pictures. Police have also found two pages on Facebook which are said to be handled from Nepal and possibly run by one person. Police said that the suspects, all daily wagers, wanted quick money and were lured by the suspected ISI agent into the trap.

In July last year, police said, Bhupendra Vanzara received Rs 25,000 in his Paytm account for buying a weapon to kill someone known and involved in dubious business. He had purchased a gun but was caught in Kheda. He was later released. "It is part of an ISI conspiracy in which they lure Indians to damage the country's internal security and economy," DCB stated in a press note.

"This is a new terror module which is cheap and it is done virtually. We have found that they have been using VPN (virtual private network) so that their calls are not traceable. As far as the three suspects are concerned, one of them was caught recently in an arms act while another one was involved in a burglary," Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCB, Chaitanya Mandlik told DH.

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(Published 07 April 2021, 11:09 IST)

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