New Delhi: Twenty five years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, one of the most unusual investigations linked to the tragedy began in Mumbai with the arrest of a young man who claimed he had been involved in an Al Qaeda conspiracy.
Mohammed Afroz came under the Mumbai Police radar in October 2001 after intelligence agencies flagged his overseas travel for pilot training. His background immediately attracted attention. Afroz lived in Cheeta Camp near Trombay, while his father worked as a tailor. Investigators questioned how the family could have financed expensive training abroad.
Police eventually traced Afroz to a hotel in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, and arrested him. During questioning, he allegedly claimed to have been involved in plans connected to the September 11 attacks in the United States.
According to the allegations recorded by investigators, Afroz claimed he had been assigned a mission to hijack a flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to Manchester and crash it into the British Parliament. He allegedly said the operation was intended for September 11 but was abandoned after the attacks in the US led to heightened security worldwide.
Afroz also claimed that another group had planned an attack on Melbourne’s Rialto Towers in Australia. He reportedly told investigators that he had received pilot training in Australia, Britain and the United States.
The claims triggered an international investigation. Mumbai Police teams travelled to the US, Britain and Australia to verify the information, while then Mumbai Police Commissioner MN Singh also visited Britain as part of the inquiry.
However, investigators could not find sufficient evidence to substantiate Afroz’s allegations. The POTA charges against him were eventually dropped and he was released.
Afroz later entered electoral politics by contesting the Anushakti Nagar Assembly election but lost. He continued to maintain that the allegations against him were fabricated and that he had been falsely implicated by the police.
