Mumbai: ISIS suspect attempts suicide due to alleged harassment by ATS

One of the men from Malwani who had left home with the aim of joining the Islamic State has been in the medical intensive care unit of KEM Hospital for over 10 days now after allegedly attempting to kill himself by consuming rat poison Sources said alleged harassment by the AntiTerrorism Squad ATS which has been questioning him about his disappearance was the reasonNoor Mohammad Shaikh is believed to have attempted suicide in the first week of January after the ATS allegedly threatened to arrest him He is currently admitted to KEM Hospitalrsquos MICU ward 22 in bed number 2 His wife was at the hospital yesterday rightNoor Mohammad Shaikh 32 is believed to have attempted suicide in the first week of January after the ATS allegedly threatened to arrest him under stringent charges He is currently admitted to KEM Hospitalrsquos MICU ward 22 and is on bed number 2Doctors treating him told midday that his condition was initially very serious and that he is ldquocritical but out of dangerrdquo A source in the ATS told midday that Noor was being questioned for more than 14 hours a day after he was tracedldquoAfter Noor was traced from the Sangli he was constantly questioned by the ATS over links to join ISISrdquo said the source who did not want to be identified ldquoHe had alleged that he and his family were harassed by ATS officials in the name of interrogation but the policemen maintained they were just doing their job After the ATS registered a case against Ayaz Sultan who is believed to have left the country they were threatening to apply the same stringent sections against Noor and Wajid Shaikh who too had returned home Just two days before the ATS was to arrest them Noor consumed poisonrdquoAnother officer added ldquoNoor consumed one full bottle of rat poison His body had turned yellow and his condition was extremely serious when brought to the hospital Noor has alleged that he attempted suicide because he and his wife were being harassed by the ATS Security in the ward is tight and doctors are monitoring Noorrsquos healthrdquoSultan was charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act on December 30 Noorrsquos family refused to comment when midday contacted them midday called Maharashtra ATS chief Vivek Phansalkar and ATS Special IG Niket Kaushik several times but neither answered the phone Text messages to the two were also unanswered KEM Dean Dr Avinash Supe also refused to comment on why Noor was hospitalised ldquoI have been asked by the Special IG Niket Kaushik not to divulge any information about this patientrdquo Dr Supe told midday in response to several detailed questions about Noorrsquos condition and hospitalisation When midday visited the hospital on Thursday night ATS personnel in plainclothes were manning the ward Noor gestured to this correspondent that he wanted to speak but was stopped by three ATS men in plainclothes posted inside the ward This correspondent then tried speaking to Noorrsquos wife Rahimunnisa but the ATS men warned her not to speak to the medialdquoI donrsquot know anything and canrsquot say anything on the matterrdquo she said Other family members also have been warned not to speak to any visitormidday was the first to report the disappearance of four Malwani men and the ATSrsquos suspicion that they had left home with the aim of joining ISIS Ayaz Sultan 23 left home on October 30 saying he had to go to Pune in connection with job offer he had from Kuwait company Mohsin Shaikh 26 left home on December 16 saying he was going to attend a friendrsquos wedding in SuratWajid Shaikh 25 left home on December 16 saying he had to get his name corrected in his Aadhar card Noor too left home on December 16 saying he is going for a cup of tea with a friendWajid and Noor were traced by the ATS while Mohsin still remains absconding ATS has confirmed that Sultan has left the countryldquoIt is clear case of negligence by the ATSrdquo said a senior police officer aware of the developmentsldquoNoor is an important witness and can even be made an accused in the case The ATS should have been with him all the time And since he was supposed to be arrested the ATS officials should have taken extra care An inquiry in the matter should be initiated and action should be taken against those who let this happenrdquo