Recently, Indian intelligence agencies have been on high alert due to a video that has heightened their concerns. The video, which surfaced on Telegram about three weeks ago, features terrorist Farhatullah Ghori, currently residing in Pakistan, urging sleeper cells in India to target trains nationwide. This alarming development has caused significant anxiety among security forces.
Farhatullah Ghori’s Background
Farhatullah Ghori, also known by aliases such as Abu Sufiyan, Sardar Saheb, and Faroo, is linked to numerous high-profile attacks. His involvement includes the 2002 Akshardham temple attack in Gujarat, which resulted in over 30 deaths and 80 injuries, and the 2005 suicide bombing at the task force office in Hyderabad. Indian authorities have identified him as a key figure in jihadi recruitment and terrorist operations, with previous reports indicating his role in organizing jihadi activities online.
The Video and Ghori’s Threats
In the video, Ghori discusses various methods for executing bomb attacks, including the use of pressure cookers, and calls for attacks on petroleum pipelines and Hindu leaders in India. He criticizes the Indian government’s efforts to disrupt sleeper cells through agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), asserting, “The Indian government is weakening the sleeper cells by targeting their properties through the ED and NIA, but we will come back and shake the government.”
Connections to the Rameswaram Attack
The Rameswaram cafe attack on March 1, 2024, resulted in approximately ten injuries. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Abdul Mathin Ahmed Taha and Musavir Hussain Shajib, who are accused of masterminding the attack and placing the IED, respectively. Both individuals were apprehended from a lodge near Kolkata while using false identities. They are alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) module based in Shivamogga, Karnataka. Farhatullah Ghori and his son-in-law, Shahid Faisal, have established a robust network of sleeper cells in South India, with Faisal having direct connections with the accused in the Rameswaram attack.