Mumbai, Apr 28 The stabbing of two security guards by a knife-wielding "self-radicalised" man appears to be a 'lone wolf' attack, while initial probe showed he assaulted the duo after allegedly
asking their religion and telling them to recite 'Kalma' in Thane district, an official said on Tuesday.
Investigators have found a note referring to 'lone wolf' attacks and the Islamic State terrorist group at the house of the man, Zaib Zubair Ansari (31), who was remanded to the custody of Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) till May 4 by a Thane court a day after his arrest.
The 31-year-old accused, who had lived in the United States for several years, seemed to have undergone "self-radicalisation", Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.
Prima facie, the incident appeared to be a 'lone wolf' attack, and Ansari allegedly asked the guards at an under-construction building site in Mira Road area to recite the 'Kalma' (Islamic declaration of faith) before stabbing them early on Monday, an ATS official said.
A 'lone wolf attack' refers to a terrorist act carried out by an individual without any help or instigation from an organisation.
Ansari had returned to India from the US in 2020, the ATS official said.
One of the victims claimed the accused asked them to recite the 'Kalma', and when they could not, he stabbed them with a knife, causing them serious injuries, as per the official.
The Maharashtra government handed over the probe into the incident to the ATS on Monday evening.
Ansari lived alone at the Smita Regency building in Naya Nagar, Mira Road, about 200 metres from the incident site, the official said. His wife, who is of Afghan origin, had left him and gone to the US, as per the probe.
During a search of his residence, the ATS recovered a note referring to lone wolf attacks and the Islamic State, a laptop, and three copies of the Quran, the official said.
Speaking to reporters in Solapur, chief minister Fadnavis, who also heads the home ministry, said the accused was apparently influenced by online content and books, and acquired an extremist mindset.
"It seems to be a case of self-radicalisation. The individual appears to have been influenced by certain content and developed an understanding of concepts like 'jihad' and killing people of other religions," Fadnavis said.
"With the help of agencies like the ATS and NIA, we will probe who is behind this radicalisation and whether others are involved," he added.
According to the ATS official, the accused first asked the two security guards for directions to a nearby mosque.
The guards told him that they did not know the location of the mosque. Ansari then asked them whether they were Hindus, and moved ahead. Within a few seconds, he returned, pulled out a knife from his pocket, and allegedly attacked security guard Subrato Sen and his supervisor Rajkumar Mishra, leaving them injured, the official said.
Before attacking, Ansari asked the supervisor whether he was also a Hindu, and if not, he should recite the 'Kalma'. The accused stabbed them because they were unable to recite the 'Kalma', the official said.
Ansari was produced before a court in Bhayander following his arrest by the Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Police. The court remanded him to the ATS custody till May 4.
The case, initially registered at the Nayanagar police station, was transferred to the ATS due to the "sensitivity and seriousness" of the incident.
Notably, terrorists who targeted tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2025 had allegedly asked one of the victims, a Christian, to recite the ‘Kalma’ before shooting him dead.
Ansari was identified with the help of CCTV footage and apprehended within one and a half hours by Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar Police.
The accused had lived in the US with his parents from 2000 to 2020. After his work permit expired, he returned to India and stayed in Kurla area of Mumbai and Vashi in neighbouring Navi Mumbai for some time, the ATS official said.
Since 2022, he was living alone at the Smita Regency building.
The Mira Bhayander area had witnessed communal tensions and violence during a Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony rally in 2024.
