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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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 man, Mohammed Afroz, said he had been part of the wider conspiracy linked to the 9/11 attacks. 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. Afroz admitted during questioning that he had been part of the Al Qaeda conspiracy behind the September 11 attacks in the United States, according to Mumbai Police.
