Hizbul 'Pepsi bomber' nabbed in Anand

The Gujarat anti-terrorist squad (ATS) announced on Sunday that it had arrested a Kashmiri, Bashir Ahmed Baba alias Aijaz, from near Samarkha village in Anand district. The 32-year-old Baba is alleged to be a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist who was in the state to recruit youths for terror training in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Baba arrived in Ahmedabad on February 20 and was staying at Parishram apartments in the Satellite area of the city. He is alleged to have done a recce of some key installations in Ahmedabad, including the ISRO facility in the city.

A resident of Srinagar, Baba was known among the Jammu and Kashmir police as ‘Pepsi Bomber’ for his ability to assemble improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in empty Pepsi cans. He was active during the Amarnath land agitation and had allegedly hurled IEDs in Pepsi cans at the police.