Gujarat ATS Probes Ahmedabad Hotel After Suspected IS Terror Module Operative's Repeated Stays

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has intensified its probe into a recently dismantled IS-inspired terror module, focusing on repeated hotel stays in Ahmedabad by key suspect Bilal Shera. Investigators are scrutinising guest registries, CCTV footage, and staff testimonies at Hotel Divya Palace in Kathwada, where Bilal frequently stayed over the past year.

ATS officers escorted Bilal to the Kathwada facility to reconstruct his movements, verify past visits, and question the hotel's owner and management. Preliminary findings reveal that another co-accused, Salman Shera, accompanied Bilal during several of these stays, raising concerns that the location served as a base for meetings, communications, or network expansion.

Midnight Laptop Sessions and Forensic Checks

Hotel inquiries revealed that Bilal spent long hours on his laptop late into the night after finishing work. ATS investigators have seized his digital devices and sent them for forensic analysis to determine whether they were used for extremist propaganda, recruitment, or encrypted communications.

The wider crackdown has so far led to the arrest of 13 individuals allegedly linked to the terror outfit.

Links to Jihadi Literature and Broader Probe

The probe has also uncovered a direct connection between Bilal and another arrested suspect, Amin. ATS officials stated that Bilal previously handed Amin a pen drive packed with jihadi literature, which is now undergoing detailed forensic examination.

Investigators are combing through electronic devices, digital logs, financial transactions, and travel records across the state to map out the network's full reach. While the ATS has kept specific operational details confidential due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation, officials indicated that further searches and additional arrests remain on the cards.