Representational Image | Photo Credit: PTI

Aurangabad: A doctor has been arrested from Khultabad area of Aurangabad in Maharashtra for being in touch with terrorists. The anti-terror squad sleuths suspect that the doctor was in contact with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. ATS officials have been questioning him for the last three days. The officials have not revealed the identity of the accused doctor, who is suspected to be involved in providing financial help to the terrorists. He is also suspected to be involved in a conspiracy to poison food and water meant for the security forces. Further, he is also suspected to be in contact with nine suspected terrorists recently arrested from Mumbra and Aurangabad.

Intelligence agencies had recently sounded alerts over the plans of the Pakistani Military Intelligence (MI) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to poison food provided to the Indian armed forces. Maharashtra ATS had arrested nine suspects connected to the ISIS terror group in January. ATS officials had arrested Mazhar Sheikh, Jumman Khuteupad, Salman Khan, Farhad Ansari along with a minor child from Mumbra, while Mohammed Mohseen Sirajullah Khan, Mohammed Taquiullah Siraj Khan, Qazi Sarfraz and Mashaehudl Islam alias Tarekh were nabbed from Aurangabad.

Officials had recovered hydrogen peroxide, poisonous powder and acid from the accused, instead of explosives. Political rallies, religious programmes and marriages of known personalities were on their target list, sources said.

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In a series of raids in January this year, Maharashtra ATS had arrested five persons from Mumbra and Thane, and four persons from Aurangabad. All the suspects were said to be working for the Popular Front of India, Bengaluru. They were also suspected to be part of an ISIS module. All the accused are well educated and Salman is said to be the leader of the group, who shifted to Mumbra a few days back.

Sources said that the accused came to know each other during Ramzan. After which they were in regular contact with each other. Officials had also recovered electronic gadgets, sharp weapons, mobile phones, and SIM cards from their possession. Following the information received from them, Maharashtra ATS had arrested a suspected terrorist and recovered laptop, tablet, hard disk, pen drive, router, and some mobile phones from him, apart from a diary containing a lot of vital information.