The investigating agencies probing the suspected “lone wolf attack” case in the April 27 Mira Road incident, where 31-year-old Zaib Zubair Ansari allegedly attacked two security guards with a knife, were told by Ansari that he believed he would be killed after attacking victims and hence left behind a note claiming allegiance to ISIS, mentioning “lone wolf would attack you all”.The note written in pencil was kept near his laptop on a table. However, Ansari’s lawyer said it was “planted” as the house was left open and not sealed even after he was taken into custody. Police also found the shop in a Mira Road mall from where he purchases the nearly nine-inch knife used for the crime.The agencies have been looking at it a case of self-radicalisation and are suspecting external involvement as Ansari had formatted his two phones to wipe out any links.Personnel from the local police station who first went to his residence said, “The note was clearly kept at a place so that it could be seen and the two phones — one with and one without a SIM card — too, had been formatted. He had also changed into a black kurta after returning home and he reasoned it as in line with the ‘ISIS ideology’.”The source added, “He told us that he did not expect to return home alive and felt that after attacking others, police would kill him. However, he survived and walked home… the entire point was to make a statement and create fear in the minds of people. When we reached his residence, he was not shocked at all.”Refuting the claims, Ansari’s lawyer Abdul Wahab Khan said, “He was arrested and taken to the police station and detained there. His house was not sealed and was lying open. This evidence is planted; anything could have been tailored and fabricated as the house was not sealed immediately. These allegations cannot be substantiated.”Saying that the “lone wolf allegations” were not substantiated with any corroborative evidence, Khan had earlier said that while these allegations were sufficient to call someone for an inquiry but are not corroborated and sufficient in a court of law. He also sought for Ansari to be referred for medical examination.Story continues below this adAn officer said that during initial interrogation, Ansari said that he had been living alone and felt generally people were not treating him well and was also finding it difficult to get a house on rent. “He made several claims… like initially he had planned to kill himself. But we do not trust what he is saying,” the source said.Ansari had told police that he recently got divorced and based on his bank accounts, he had not been earning much for the past six months and his father was sending him money.“He has said that the plight of the Palestinians, especially the death of children, triggered him. He also claimed that he made some donations for the cause, which we we will verify,” the source said. Police also sources said they found him going through pro-ISIS websites and YouTube channels.“In the past, we have seen that terror organisations contact people who engage with their content so it cannot be ruled out that someone may have reached out to him. A detailed forensic analysis of the devices will shed light on that,” the officer said.Story continues below this adAccording to investigators, Zaib was born and brought up in Kurla and moved to the US with his family when he was five years old and did his education there. After he could not find a job there, he returned to India and resided in Kurla before moving to a rented house in Mira Road, where he got a bigger place as his parents visited every six months.Sources said that Ansari was an introvert and suspicious by nature who ate only vegetarian food he himself prepared.“He came to India during the Covid pandemic and started teaching students online at a school in the Gulf. He also got married online to his friend’s sister — an Afghan national residing in the US and the daughter of a former US military official. She visited India but the two did not get along well following which she left for the US and they got a divorce. He had been staying alone since then for six to eight months, during which we suspect he got radicalised,” the source said.Ansari, allegedly stabbed two security guards at an under-construction site in Mira Road, a suburb to the north of Mumbai, early morning on April 27, after asking them their religion, as per the guard’s complaint based on which an FIR was registered.Story continues below this adWhile the security supervisor sustained serious injuries and is recuperating, the guard sustained minor injuries. The case was handled by the Mira Bhayandar police initially but later it was handed over to the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad.