According to a charge sheet filed by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in a Mumbai court, members of an "Islamic State (IS)-inspired" terror group arrested from Maharashtra in January 2019 for allegedly planning mass killing at a temple were inspired by speeches of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, reports India Today on July 24. The accused had tried to poison the temple's 'maha prasad' (holy food) at the temple, it said, adding that they also underwent training for making explosives and poison and participated in blast trials at a hill near the Mumbra bypass in Thane District.
As SATP had reported earlier, the Maharashtra ATS arrested 10 members of the ‘Ummat-E-Mohammaddiya’ group, allegedly having links with the terror group IS, from Mumbra and Aurangabad in January 2019 and foiled their plans of mass-casualty attacks using poisonous chemical mixtures at big gatherings. After a detailed investigation, the ATS earlier this month filed a charge sheet containing stunning revelations before a Mumbai court. According to the charge sheet, "the accused were inspired by speeches of Naik", against whom charges of money laundering have been filed by the Enforcement Directorate. The ATS found several videos featuring Naik and his images on social media profiles of the accused, it said.