The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism 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.

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 arrests and the nature of the materials recovered match the ATS account that Saiyed had been obtaining the items needed to try to produce the toxin.

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. These items were seized at the scene and are part of the formal case file.

A 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. The ATS says the three conducted surveys of public places and sites where crowds gather to study security patterns and choose targets.

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. The investigation is probing how weapons and material crossed state and border channels, and whether drone drops were used to move consignments into India.

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 and to map the full chain of command that may have guided or funded this plot.

About Ricin: what it is, how deadly it can be, and why authorities fear it

Ricin is a natural toxin made from the seeds of the castor plant (Ricinus communis). The seeds are the source of castor oil; when the leftover mash or processed seed material is treated, ricin can be extracted. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and other international bodies treat ricin as a dangerous toxin and regulate it tightly because it can be used to injure or kill people. Ricin is specifically mentioned among toxins of high concern by chemical and biological weapons authorities.

Medically and for public safety, ricin is serious for several reasons:

• Very small amounts are dangerous. Scientific reviews note that as little as 5–10 micrograms per kilogram of body weight may be lethal if delivered in certain ways. That means a tiny quantity can harm or kill a person.

• Multiple exposure routes. Ricin can injure or kill if inhaled, swallowed, or injected. The symptoms and speed of harm differ by the route: inhalation can cause severe respiratory failure, ingestion can cause severe gastrointestinal damage and organ failure, and injection can cause rapid systemic illness.

• No widely available antidote. There is no specific, widely available antidote to reverse ricin poisoning in ordinary clinical settings. Treatment is largely supportive — keeping airways open, supporting blood pressure and organs, and treating complications. This makes large-scale exposures especially dangerous.

• Stability and forms. Ricin can be prepared in powder, pellet, or liquid form. It can remain stable under normal conditions and can be distributed in different ways if someone has the technical skill to purify it. That capacity for varied forms makes it a worry for public-health and security agencies.

Because of these properties, security and health agencies treat attempts to manufacture or deploy ricin as very serious. The United States has a history of intercepted ricin mailings and attempted attacks; for example, letters believed to contain ricin were intercepted before they reached public figures in past years, and a number of cases have led to criminal prosecutions worldwide. High-profile incidents include letters intercepted around 2013 and a separate case in 2020 that resulted in criminal charges. These historical episodes show that ricin has been used or attempted to be used as an assassination or terror tool in other countries, which helps explain why Indian agencies acted urgently in this case.

What might have happened if the plot had succeeded

If the plan to produce and use ricin had succeeded, the likely harms would be severe and wide: ricin can kill or cause permanent damage to many people, and it can overwhelm hospitals and emergency services. A few concrete points help explain why the threat is so alarming:

• Mass casualties or mass panic. Even a small, well-targeted release in a crowded place — for example, a market or a place of worship — could lead to dozens of sick or dying people and widespread panic. Hospitals could be flooded with patients showing similar symptoms, making it hard to respond quickly. 

• Difficulty in early detection. Ricin exposure symptoms can start like common illnesses (fever, vomiting, cough), which can delay correct diagnosis. Delays reduce chances of effective supportive care.

• Longer term public fear and disruption. Beyond immediate harm, a confirmed chemical-toxin attack would reverberate through public life — markets, schools, transport hubs — and could prompt prolonged closures, economic loss, and social fear while authorities test and clean affected areas.

• Public-health and forensic burden. Testing for ricin, treating exposed people, and tracing and securing contaminated sites require specialized resources. This strains public health, law enforcement, and forensic labs.

Why the arrest matters and what comes next

This arrest matters because it stopped a cell that had both intent and apparent means — people, weapons, supplies, and alleged links to ISKP handlers abroad. The involvement of a trained doctor with foreign medical credentials underlines a worrying trend: individuals with technical or scientific skills can be radicalised and may apply professional knowledge to commit harm. Authorities will now aim to answer several urgent questions: how far had the ricin production gone; who supplied money, chemicals and equipment; whether more operatives are active across states; and what routes were used for weapons and materials (including the reported drone consignments). Local reporting and ATS statements show these are central investigative lines.

Investigators have already tied digital evidence on phones and devices to the other suspects and are following leads to find the network’s handlers and supporters. Courts will now receive the case material and remand hearings will proceed while intelligence and forensic teams test seized items and try to locate any other caches. The broader security lesson is that chemical or toxin threats require coordinated action by police, public-health authorities, forensic labs, intelligence agencies, and community vigilance.