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Thane: A 31-year-old knife-wielding Muslim man, who returned to India from the US in 2020, allegedly stabbed and seriously injured two security guards in Maharashtra’s Thane district in the wee hours of Monday, April 27.

The accused, Zaib Zubair Ansari, asked two guards at an under-construction building site in the Mira Road area to recite the ‘Kalma’ before stabbing them.

He was arrested within 90 minutes of the crime and sent to judicial remand on April 28.

According to an official release issued by the Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Police Commissionerate, the incident occurred at around 4 am at an under-construction building located behind Wockhardt Hospital within the limits of Nayanagar Police Station.

The victims have been identified as Rajkumar Mishra and Subroto Ramesh Sen. Mishra’s condition remains critical, while Sen is also receiving medical care.

Ansari asked directions to mosque

According to the ATS official, Ansari asked the two security guards for directions to a nearby mosque.

When they replied, they did not know the location Ansari 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.

Before attacking, Ansari demanded Mishra recite the ‘Kalma’.

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 lived 200 metres from the incident site

Ansari had returned to India from the US in 2020, the ATS official said.

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.

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 the Kurla area of Mumbai and Vashi in neighbouring Navi Mumbai for some time, the ATS official said.

Since 2022, he has been living alone at the Smita Regency building.

‘Lone wolf’ attack by ‘self-radicalized’ man

The state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has taken over the investigation. During a search at Ansari’s residence, a note referring to lone wolf attacks and the Islamic State, a laptop, and three copies of the Quran were recovered, an official said.

A ‘lone wolf attack’ refers to a terrorist act carried out by an individual without any help or instigation from an organisation. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also said that the accused seemed to have undergone “self-radicalisation.”

Speaking to reporters in Solapur, 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.

(With inputs from PTI.)