Mumbai guard attack accused was US returnee, watched IS videos, taught maths

Jaib Ansari, the man accused of stabbing two security guards in Mumbai after questioning them about their religion and asking if they could recite the Kalima, is a US returnee with a detailed personal history now under the scanner, sources said.

Investigators identified the accused as 31-year-old Jaib Zuber Ansari, born in Kurla in eastern Mumbai in the mid-1990s. He lived there for about five years before his family moved to the United States in 2000. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology and spent several years in Kentucky, where his father, Zubair Yusif Ansari, runs a taxi business.

Ansari worked as a tennis instructor at a school in Kentucky for around five years before returning to India in 2019 for reasons that remain unclear. After arriving, he initially stayed with his aunt in Mira Road’s Naya Nagar area before moving into rented accommodation nearby, where he lived alone for several years. He later shifted to another residence in the same locality.

He married a US citizen, Shogla Ilyasi, in 2023. Her father was a former US Army veteran. The couple separated in May 2025, and their divorce was finalised in May 2026. Sources said the separation was linked to issues related to his anger and behavioural concerns.

Investigators have found that Ansari had travelled to the UK in 2022 in search of a job but returned after failing to secure employment. He was described as a loner, with little social interaction or close contacts.

He had been teaching Chemistry and Mathematics at a coaching centre until about two to three months before the incident, when the classes were shut down.

Sources added that his online activity is under scrutiny, with agencies examining his consumption of ISIS-related content and videos as part of the probe into possible radical influence.

The attack took place in the early hours of Monday, when Ansari allegedly confronted security guards Rajkumar Mishra and Subroto Sen near an under-construction building in Mira Road. He asked their names and religion, and whether they could recite the Kalima. When they said they could not, he allegedly pulled out a knife and attacked them.

Ansari was arrested within 90 minutes after investigators tracked him using CCTV footage. The case has been handed over to the state Anti-Terrorism Squad, with officials treating it as a suspected religiously motivated attack.

Security agencies have recovered material from his mobile phone and are examining whether he was influenced by extremist ideology or preparing for a possible lone-wolf style attack.

According to officials, Mishra remains in critical condition, while Sen is undergoing treatment.

Police have urged the public not to spread rumours related to the case, warning that strict legal action will be taken against those circulating misinformation.