A man has been arrested in Mumbai’s Naya Nagar area for allegedly asking two security guards their religion before stabbing them. Police sources told NDTV the accused – Zaib Zuber Ansari, 31 – demanded the guards recite the ‘kalma‘, or the foundational doctrines of Islam.
The guards – Rajkumar Mishra and Subroto Sen – were at an under-construction building behind Wockhardt Hospital when Ansari reportedly confronted and attacked them. The attack took place early on Monday, sometime around 4 am.
Both suffered serious injuries and are receiving treatment at the same hospital. Mishra managed to get himself there on his own. But Sen needed a Good Samaritan, Nayab Sheikh.
Sheikh, who lives in the adjacent building and was returning home after work, saw Sen bleeding and hiding in the guards’ booth. He took him to the police station and then to the hospital.
Ansari was arrested 90 minutes later; cops scanned area CCTV footage to track him down.
He was taken to the Naya Nagar Police Station where a case was filed, including charges of attempted murder and promoting enmity between two groups.
Ansari was then produced before a court in Thane and sent to police custody till May 4.
A team of police and the state Anti-Terror Squad is investigating the attack. Authorities have urged people not to believe in rumours and refrain from spreading misleading information. Strict action will be taken against those who do so, they said.
The authorities are now examining mobile phones and electronic devices seized from Ansari to establish if this was a one-off attack or part of a larger conspiracy. Sources claimed words like ‘ISIS’, ‘lone wolf’, ‘jihad’, and ‘Gaza’ were found scribbled in notes written by Ansari.
Sources also claimed Ansari lived in the United States for several years and that members of his family still reside in that country. He was unable to find a job there and had to return to India.
He lived alone in the Mira Road area and took online chemistry classes to earn money.
Authorities believe he was radicalised by source material found online.