Mumbai Man Stabs Guards After ‘Recite Kalma’ Demand; ATS Probes

Mumbai: The Maharashtra ATS found a note mentioning “lone wolf” attacks and the Islamic State in the house of a man who allegedly attacked two security guards in Thane district after asking about his religion, officials said on Tuesday. An official said at first glance the incident appeared to be a “lone wolf” attack by a radicalized man who allegedly asked guards to recite ‘Remain’ before stabbing them in the early hours of Monday.

He said that the accused, whose name was identified as Zaib Zubair Ansari (31), who returned to India from the USA in 2020, allegedly asked the security guards about their religion after an argument in an under-construction building in Thane’s Mira Road area.

According to the official, one of the victims alleged that the accused asked both of them about their religion and when they could not recite Kalma, he stabbed them and severely injured them.

Regarding the seriousness of the incident, the Maharashtra government handed over the investigation into the incident to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday evening.

Ansari lived alone in Smita Regency building in Naya Nagar on Mira Road, about 200 meters from the scene of the incident, the official said.

He said that when the ATS searched his home, they found a note referring to “lone wolf” attacks and the Islamic State, a laptop on the table and three copies of the Quran.

During the incident, the defendant first asked the security guards the address of a nearby mosque.

Both security guards denied knowing the address of the mosque. The accused then asked the guards if they were Hindus and moved forward. Within seconds, Ansari returned, took out a knife from his pocket and allegedly attacked security guard Subrato Sen and his superior Rajkumar Mishra, the official said.

While attacking, Ansari asked his superior whether he was also a Hindu and if not, he should read ‘Kalma’. The official said that the accused stabbed them because they could not recite ‘Kalma’.

Terrorists who targeted tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in April last year allegedly asked one of the victims, a Christian, to recite ‘Kalma’ before shooting him.

After Monday’s incident, Ansari was identified based on CCTV footage from the scene and was nabbed by Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar police within an hour and a half.

The accused lived in the United States with his parents from 2000 to 2020, the official said. However, he returned to India after his work permit expired and stayed in Kurla in Mumbai and Vashi in neighboring Navi Mumbai for some time, the official said.

Since 2022, Smita has been living alone in the Regency building. The official said that his wife was Afghan and during the interrogation it was revealed that she left her husband and went to America.

Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar district has a diverse population, including Muslim-majority areas. According to the police, in 2024, the city witnessed communal tension when over 60 people attacked a procession and vandalized vehicles during the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony rally.