Tailor's Son, Pilot Training And A 9/11 Claim That Shocked India

Twenty-five years ago, the world watched in shock as two hijacked aircraft crashed into New York City's Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, bringing down the iconic buildings and killing thousands. A month after the attacks, a man arrested by Mumbai Police claimed that similar attacks had also been planned in Britain and Australia on the same day.

The man, Mohammed Afroz, said he had been part of the wider conspiracy linked to the 9/11 attacks. His claims prompted a major international investigation, with Mumbai Police sending teams to different countries to verify his story. The then Mumbai Police Commissioner, MN Singh, even travelled to the United Kingdom as part of the probe.

A Suspicious Background

In October 2001, Mumbai Police received intelligence about a young man named Afroz, who lived in the Cheeta Camp, a low-lying area near Trombay, Mumbai and had travelled abroad to receive pilot training.

The information immediately raised questions for investigators. Cheeta Camp was a slum settlement, and Afroz's father worked as a tailor. Police wondered how a young man from such a modest background could afford an expensive pilot training course overseas.

Investigators suspected that an individual or organisation may have financed his education and began searching for him.

Police soon discovered that Afroz had returned to India, although his family reportedly did not know where he was staying. Investigators later traced him to Hotel Abbott in Vashi, Navi Mumbai.

Police raided the hotel and arrested him.

According to Mumbai Police, Afroz admitted during questioning that he had been part of the Al Qaeda conspiracy behind the September 11 attacks in the United States.

Alleged Plan To Attack British Parliament

Police said Afroz claimed to have been a member of a team assigned to crash an aircraft into the British Parliament.

According to the alleged plan, he was supposed to hijack a flight travelling from London's Heathrow Airport to Manchester on September 11, 2001. However, after news of the attacks in the United States broke, security measures were tightened at airports around the world, preventing him from carrying out the operation.

Police further claimed that Afroz told investigators that a wealthy British businessman named Mubarak Musalman had financed his pilot training.

Afroz also allegedly said that a man named Maulana Mansoor Ilyas, based in Victoria, Australia, had encouraged him to become involved in terrorism.

According to his statements to police, he received pilot training in three countries: Australia, Britain and the United States.

He also claimed that another team had been prepared to attack Melbourne's Rialto Towers in Australia.

International Probe

Mumbai Police initially took Afroz into custody in connection with a robbery case and later arrested him under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), which had replaced the now-defunct Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) law.

Given the seriousness of his claims, Mumbai Police sent investigation teams to the US, Britain and Australia to verify the information he provided.

However, the inquiry failed to uncover evidence supporting his allegations. Despite the extensive investigation, Mumbai Police was unable to gather evidence that could substantiate the allegations against Afroz in court.

The prosecution later approved the removal of the POTA charges against him. As a result, Afroz was released.

Following his release, Afroz contested the Anushakti Nagar Assembly election but was unsuccessful.

Afroz maintained that he had been falsely implicated by the police and argued that all allegations against him were fabricated.