The Gujarat Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) nabbed three individuals with chemicals and weapons in a big anti-terror operation on Monday (November 10, 2025). In shocking details, the Gujarat ATS revealed that they were planning to carry out terrorist activities across the country. The key accused, Dr Ahmed Mohiuddin Syed from Telangana’s Hyderabad, found his home turned into a laboratory to manufacture ricin, a highly toxic chemical, to carry out large-scale terror activities. Other arrested individuals include Azad Suleman Sheikh and Mohammad Suhail Salim Khan, both from Uttar Pradesh and Ahmedabad.

It is considered one of the deadliest poisons. ATS also disclosed that the trio reportedly planned to extract ricin and use it to contaminate public water sources and temple prasad (food offerings) in Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow.

Ricin is a highly potent toxin derived from the waste of castor beans processed to make castor oil. Although the toxicity of castor seeds was well known, ricin was first isolated in 1888 by German scientist Peter Hermann Stillmark. This chemical works by inhibiting protein synthesis inside cells, resulting in cell death and organ failure if the exposure amount is sufficient.

What are the symptoms of ricin poisoning?

Based on a report published by the Print, ricin irritates the airways and lungs when it is inhaled. People can feel its early symptoms within hours and including fever, chest tightness, nausea, cough, and difficulty in breathing.

Further, fluid can accumulate in the lungs (pulmonary edema) when it progresses, making breathing increasingly difficult. It can also sometimes cause the skin to appear blue. In addition, this can also lead to low blood pressure, respiratory failure, and even death if exposure is severe and untreated.

When it is consumed in large amounts can cause severe vomiting and diarrhoea, which may contain blood. As the body loses fluids, it can lead to extreme dehydration and a dangerous drop in blood pressure. Other symptoms may include hallucinations, seizures, and blood in the urine. In the days that follow, organ failure, particularly of the liver and kidneys, can occur, often proving fatal.

As per the reports, it has been said that there is no antidote, vaccine or medicine which can counter ricin poisoning. However, treatment for it might lessen the effects of the poison.

When has ricin poison been used in the past?

There are several incidents in the past where ricin poison has been used. In 1978, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was assassinated in London after being pricked in the leg with a modified umbrella containing ricin. Three years later, CIA agent Boris Korczak survived an alleged ricin pellet attack, which was reportedly orchestrated by the Soviet KGB.

In 2014, James Everett Dutschke, a resident of Mississippi, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for mailing ricin-laced letters to then–US President Barack Obama and other officials.