A 36-year-old woman of Indian-origin was arrested and charged with attempted murder by the counter-terrorism command wing of the Metropolitan Police in London.
Kuntal Patel, who works for the Barclays Bank in Canary Wharf, was arrested on Sunday under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, 2001, and was charged on Wednesday night following an intelligence-led operation that included searches at three addresses in London.
"Kuntal Patel…has tonight been charged with attempted murder following an investigation by the Counter-terrorism Command. She is due to appear in custody at Westminster magistrates court tomorrow, Thursday, 30 January," the police said in a statement.
Kuntal is the daughter of Meena Patel, who sits on the bench at the Thames magistrates court. This is one of rare instances when a woman of Indian origin has been arrested and charged under Britain's anti-terrorism laws.
Kuntal's arrest and questioning at an east London police station was preceded by the operation that included a search of Patel's house in Stratford, the police said.
Her house on Park Road is located near Olympic Park, the venue of 2012 London Olympics.
According to local councillor Ron Manley, who has reportedly known the Patels for more than 20 years: "They are a very upstanding family. Meena is a magistrate and used to work for a local authority, Kuntal works in the city and her younger daughter Poonam is a pharmacist".
"They are a Hindu family and I've known the two girls since they were at primary school. They have always been very polite, very nice girls," he told the local media.
Kuntal was the second person to be arrested in the operation.
The first arrest was that of a 19-year-old son of Nicholas Sutcliffe, a senior diplomat at the Foreign Office.
The young man has since been released and will face no further action, the police said.
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