Gujarat ATS foils India’s first ricin terror plot led by a Hyderabad doctor, exposing ISKP’s AI-driven radicalization and Pakistan’s drone network.
Brajesh Mishra
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested three men—including Hyderabad-based doctor Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed—in what investigators call India’s first known bioterror plot involving ricin, one of the world’s most lethal toxins. Authorities allege the accused were planning coordinated mass-casualty attacks across major Indian cities, under the direction of the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) and operatives linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Ricin, extracted from the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis), is a potent toxin with no known antidote; even a few micrograms can kill an adult. According to Gujarat ATS officials, Dr. Saiyed—a 35-year-old MBBS graduate from China—was radicalized through encrypted ISKP propaganda channels and used his restaurant business as a front to store castor seeds for ricin extraction. His handler, Abu Khadija, based in Afghanistan, allegedly coordinated with ISI to smuggle weapons and explosives via cross-border drones into India.
Over the past three years, ISKP has expanded its operations across South Asia, strengthened by ISI funding estimated at over $200 million annually. The group has established sleeper cells across India, relying on encrypted messaging apps and AI-generated propaganda to attract educated recruits. Intelligence reports have warned of more than 20,000 ISI-linked sleeper cells operating nationwide, with Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh flagged as emerging hubs.
By 2024, investigators tracked Dr. Saiyed’s engagement with extremist digital content, including deepfake videos and AI-driven chatbots simulating ideological mentors. He maintained contact with handlers through encrypted platforms, receiving both indoctrination and tactical guidance. Two associates—Azad Suleman Sheikh and Mohammad Suhail Khan from Uttar Pradesh—reportedly conducted reconnaissance in Delhi, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad, focusing on RSS offices, crowded markets, and government buildings.
While most reports highlight the arrests, the deeper story lies in how terrorism itself is transforming. The image of the uneducated recruit has given way to a more dangerous archetype—the educated, multilingual professional radicalized by algorithmic precision and empowered by easy access to scientific knowledge.
ISKP’s use of AI-driven propaganda—including deepfake video bulletins, synthetic voices, and AI chatbots—allows extremist recruiters to personalize persuasion. Studies by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) and GNET Research have shown that such methods can accelerate radicalization among professionals.
Dr. Saiyed’s background as a trained medical professional made him an ideal candidate for ISKP’s new hybrid strategy: biological expertise fused with ideological conviction. His plot blended physical and digital warfare—bioweapon development enabled by drone-based logistics and AI-assisted planning.
The case exposes a significant policy vacuum in India’s biosecurity and biodefense infrastructure. Despite being a signatory to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), India lacks a centralized national biodefense authority or a unified framework to monitor dual-use biotechnology. Agencies such as the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) operate largely in isolation.
Experts from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and DRaS Institute have warned that India’s regulatory oversight lags behind global biosecurity standards. Castor seeds, though a legal agricultural product, are an example of a dual-use material—benign in industry but potentially catastrophic in weaponized form.
With AI amplifying both the spread of extremist content and access to technical know-how, India’s traditional counterterror systems risk falling behind the curve.
Pakistan’s drone network has emerged as a new vector for hybrid warfare, blending narcotics, arms, and now potentially biological materials. Between 2024 and 2025, Indian agencies intercepted more than 400 Pakistani drones, carrying drugs, grenades, and assault weapons across the Punjab and Rajasthan borders.
Analysts warn that terror groups like ISKP, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)—long rivals—are increasingly coordinating under ISI supervision in Balochistan. The convergence signals a shift toward unified operations that blend cyber, AI, and biological threats—what some analysts now call “asymmetric automation warfare.”
The Gujarat ATS may have averted a major tragedy, but the implications are profound. As AI models grow more capable and biotechnological knowledge becomes open-source, radical actors may soon require neither labs nor armies—just access and intent.
India’s next major national security challenge may not emerge from bombs or bullets but from code, chemicals, and cognition. If terror networks can now code, synthesize, and fly their weapons—can India’s biodefense institutions evolve just as fast?
Q1: What is ricin and why is it used as a terror weapon?
Ricin is a toxin derived from castor seeds. It’s classified as a Category B bioterror agent by the CDC because it can cause death in microgram doses and has no antidote.
Q2: Who is the Hyderabad doctor linked to the ricin terror plot?
Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, a Hyderabad-based doctor with an MBBS from China, was arrested by Gujarat ATS for allegedly preparing ricin for ISKP-linked terror attacks.
Q3: How does ISKP use AI and drones for terrorism?
ISKP uses AI chatbots for recruitment and Pakistani drones for weapons smuggling, creating a new hybrid threat combining digital radicalization and physical logistics.
Q4: Is India prepared for bioterrorism threats?
India lacks a centralized biosecurity authority and inter-agency coordination for biological threats, despite being a signatory to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.
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