The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested three men on Sunday, 9th November, including a doctor from Telangana, for planning a major terror attack using Ricin, a deadly poison. The investigation has revealed that the doctor, identified as Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, had been researching how to make Ricin, which is banned internationally for its extreme toxicity. He had also been in contact with people linked to terror groups.
गुजरात ATS ने आतंकी साजिश को नाकाम किया है..!
यूपी के रहने वाले दो आतंकियों पर ज्यादा जानकारी दे रहे हैं संवाददाता संतोष शर्मा#GujaratATS #ATVideo #AajSubah | @arpitaarya | @aap_ka_santosh pic.twitter.com/Sg4uvZdLmV— AajTak (@aajtak) November 10, 2025
According to the ATS, Dr Saiyed, 35, who has a medical degree from China, worked under the instructions of a person named Abu Khadija, a resident of Afghanistan connected with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). He was also in touch with several people from Pakistan. During interrogation, Saiyed confessed that he had been preparing to make Ricin, also known as “Ryzin,” a highly toxic substance made from castor beans. For this, he had arranged research materials, chemical equipment, and raw ingredients needed for the process.
The ATS team, led by SP K Siddharth, caught Saiyed during a raid near Adalaj Toll Plaza on the Ahmedabad-Mehsana Road after receiving confidential information. He was driving a silver Ford Figo car in which officers found two Glock pistols, one Beretta pistol, 30 live cartridges, and about 4 litres of castor oil stored in a plastic container. Castor oil is the primary material used to make Ricin.
The forensic scan of Saiyed’s devices helped the police track down two others: Azad Suleman Sheikh, 20, a tailor from Shamli in Uttar Pradesh, and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem Khan, 23, a student from Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh. They had helped Saiyed get the weapons and were working with him from Banaskantha in Gujarat.
Both men, according to the ATS, shared extremist beliefs and had taken part in reconnaissance work at key locations in Lucknow, Delhi, and Ahmedabad as part of the planned attacks.
It has also come to light that the weapons were received from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, with their handler sending arms consignments by drones across the Pakistan border. The ATS seized three pistols, 30 live cartridges, and Ricin-related materials during the operation. Officials said the trio had prepared to use Ricin as part of their plan to cause mass harm, taking inspiration from similar poison plots reported internationally in the past.
All three accused, along with Abu Khadija, who is currently wanted, have been booked on 8th November under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Arms Act. Saiyed was presented before a court, which sent him to police custody till 17th November. Investigators are now trying to trace others connected to this terror network.
Ricin, derived from castor beans, is a highly toxic chemical weapon classified as Category 2 under international law. Just a small amount can be infectious if swallowed, injected, or inhaled. Although it’s difficult to spread through the air, Ricin has been used in past assassination attempts.
Security agencies around the world take its possible use very seriously. Notably, letters laced with Ricin were once intercepted en route to former US Presidents Barack Obama in 2013 and Donald Trump in 2020 before reaching them.
The Gujarat ATS has said the case highlights a dangerous trend of terrorists trying to use chemical agents like Ricin in India. The team continues to investigate how far this network extends and whether more people in other states were part of the plan.