Police investigators have recovered a handwritten note referencing “lone wolf” attacks and the Islamic State from the residence of a 31-year-old man arrested for allegedly assaulting two security guards in Maharashtra’s Thane district, officials said on Tuesday.
According to officials from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the accused, identified as Zaib Zubair Ansari, is suspected of having acted alone in the early Monday morning attack at an under-construction site in the Mira Road area. The state government has since transferred the case to the ATS for further investigation.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, said preliminary findings suggest the accused may have been “self-radicalised” through online material. He indicated that investigators are examining whether any external networks were involved in influencing him.
“It appears to be a case of self-radicalisation. He seems to have been influenced by certain online content and developed extremist interpretations of religious concepts,” Fadnavis told reporters in Solapur. He added that agencies such as the ATS and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe possible links and any wider conspiracy.
Officials said Ansari, who reportedly lived in the United States for several years before returning to India in 2020, had been residing alone in a residential building in Mira Road’s Naya Nagar area, located close to the crime scene. His wife, who is of Afghan origin, had reportedly separated from him and returned to the US.
During a search of his home, investigators recovered the alleged note referring to lone-wolf-style attacks and the Islamic State, along with a laptop and multiple copies of the Quran, an ATS official said.
The attack reportedly took place when Ansari approached two private security guards at the site, initially asking for directions to a nearby mosque. When they said they did not know its location, he allegedly questioned them about their religion. According to police, he then left briefly before returning and attacking them with a knife, leaving both men seriously injured.
Investigators said the accused also asked one of the victims to recite the “Kalma” before carrying out the assault, allegedly targeting them after they were unable to do so.
CCTV footage helped police identify and detain Ansari within approximately 90 minutes of the incident, officials said. He has since been taken into custody by the Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar Police and handed over to the ATS for interrogation.
Authorities are also examining the accused’s background, including his years in the United States between 2000 and 2020, subsequent stay in parts of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, and his circumstances leading up to the attack.
The incident comes amid heightened sensitivity in the Mira Road region, which has witnessed communal tensions in recent years, including during a 2024 Ram temple-related procession.
(With inputs from PTI)