Ahmedabad: Ahead of the the grand Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra scheduled across Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has achieved a major success in terms of security. The ATS team has detained five suspects from Siddhpur and is subjecting them to intensive interrogation.

According to reports, the Rath Yatra is scheduled for July 16 in several cities, including Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Vadodara, Patan, and Rajkot. Intelligence inputs had indicated that certain organisations were active with the intent to disrupt the state's peace and security during the event. Investigations revealed links between terrorist organisations and Siddhpur Taluka; subsequently, the ATS, in coordination with local police, conducted a search operation and apprehended the five suspects.

A detailed investigation is underway to determine whether these suspects have any connections to the terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed or any other such group. Additionally, there are reports of two other individuals being detained from Banaskantha.

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Gujarat ATS On High Alert

The Gujarat Police and ATS are on high alert given the sensitive nature of festivals like the Rath Yatra. The drive to apprehend suspects has been ongoing for the past few days. Eight suspects had already been arrested 11 days prior. Earlier actions involved the apprehension of three individuals from Siddhpur, one from Chikhli, and three from Palanpur.

Suspects Undergoing Interrogation

The state government and security agencies are ensuring that no untoward incidents occur during the Rath Yatra. All detained suspects are undergoing rigorous interrogation to fully uncover their networks and intentions. The local administration has also appealed to citizens to remain vigilant.

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A few days back, the Maharashtra ATS conducted searches at multiple locations across the stat in connection with an ongoing probe into alleged social media links between individuals and Pakistan-based ISI handler Shahzad Bhatti.

The ATS stated that raids were conducted at multiple places such as Mumbai, Thane, Kurla, Bandra, Jogeshwari, Navi Mumbai, Mira Road, Bhayandar, Sangli, Satara and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The probe agency said that the move was in relation to persons who had maintained communication with Bhatti on various social media sites.