On 27th October, the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) apprehended a 35-year-old Pune-based IT professional for having terror links. The accused has been as Zubair Hangargekar who is from the Kondhwa neighbourhood of Pune. He was arrested over charges of owning literature from the terrorist group al-Qaida. His friend was also arrested for interrogation at the Pune train station shortly after the two returned from Chennai after a function.
A First Information Report (FIR) was also submitted against Zubair in accordance with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). On 9th October, the ATS raided the homes and workplaces of 19 suspects, including him, in response to information gathered during the investigation into the Satara robbery and terror funding case, according to ATS sources. The authorities confiscated various electronic equipment, including laptops, hard drives and cell phones as well as documents and books during the operation.
“We arrested Hangargekar because his laptop, among the 19 laptops seized during the searches in the early hours of 9th October, was found containing downloaded al-Qaida literature. Downloading such material constitutes an offence,” an officer stated, reported The Times of India. The electronic devices were found to contain suspicious material connected to terror activities, including incriminating videos.
During the searches conducted at various sites throughout the city on 9th October, the ATS seized 40 cellphones in addition to the 19 laptops. According to the officer, these devices had been sent for digital forensic examination.
“We are probing if Hangargekar came in contact with al-Qaida members and what he wanted to do with his connection. Also, why was he having all the literature of al-Qaida. We will question his detained friend, and check his cellphone and other electronic gadgets. We are also checking if he came in contact with any other terrorist organisation,” a senior cop mentioned.
The authorities were monitoring Zubair as he left the state. They set up a trap and captured him from the Pune Railway station area upon his return. He appeared before a Pune special court and was placed under ATS custody until 4th November to conduct additional investigation.
The court was informed by the police that he was plotting terror attacks in Maharashtra and other places alongside participating in anti-national activities. A senior police officer stated that a further investigation was underway and a few more people were under interrogation in the case.
Zubair who is a Solapur native has a degree in engineering and worked in database development and software testing. He has has been employed by a software company in the Kalyani Nagar area. He is married with two kids and his family, including his brother, resides in a closeby society.
Background of the matter
Mohammed Shahnawaz Alam alias Shafi alias Abdulla of Jharkhand, Mohammed Yusuf Khan and Mohammed Yunus Mohammed Yakub Saki, both from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, were apprehended by a team of Pune city police on night patrol in July 2023 on suspicion of stealing a car from the Kothrud area.
Alam was again caught by the Delhi Police in October of the same year after he escaped from police custody when they were being transported for a house search in Kondhwa. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) listed Khan and Saki as “most wanted” in connection with the March 2022 seizure of explosives from a car in Rajasthan. The three men were living in Kondhwa while pretending to be graphic designers, according to a probe.
The case was taken over by the state Anti-Terrorism Squad which also nabbed a few other persons for suspected ties to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) including Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, S N Kazi and IT engineer Abdul Kadir Pathan. On 8th August 2023, the inquiry was then assigned to the NIA that dubbed it the “Pune ISIS module case.”
According to investigators, the accused tested the devices at a remote location in Pune’s Ghat neighbourhood as well as at some spots in the Satara and Kolhapur forests. The ATS then captured Saki, Alam and Barodawala in a different case in March 2024 for robbing Ashok Kumar, the proprietor of a Satara business, of about Rs 1 lakh in cash and threatening him with a gun.
Talha Liyakat Khan of Kondhwa, the fourth suspect in this case, was arrested in last June. They reportedly utilised some of the robbery money to fund terrorism and buy parts for making a bomb.
On 9th October, the ATS raided the homes of Zubair and other perpetrators in the Kondhwa, Khadak, Wanavdi, Khadki and Bhosari areas of Pune based on leads gathered during the case’s subsequent inquiry.
The latest development transpired on the heels of the arrest of 19-year-old Mohammad Adnan Khan alias Abu Muharib from Delhi’s Sadiq Nagar and 20-year-old Adnan Khan alias Abu Mohammad from Bhopal. They had connections to ISIS, handlers in Syria and were planning explosions in the populated areas of the national capital.
