MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), on Monday, arrested a 33-year-old software engineer, identified as Zubair Hangargekar, from Pune’s Kondhwa area for his alleged links with Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda and involvement in the radicalisation of youth.
According to ATS officials, Zubir Hangargekar, who had been under surveillance for nearly a month, was taken into custody early on Monday and produced before a special UAPA court, which remanded him to police custody till November 4. Mr Hangargekar has been booked under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Hangargekar is a B Tech graduate, software tester ,and database developer working with a Kalyaninagar-based IT firm, hails from Solapur and lives in Pune with his wife and two children. ATS teams tracked him down to Pune Railway Station upon his return from an event in Chennai. He was detained along with his associates in Pune. They were in Chennai to attend a social function.
The ATS official say, the arrest is connected to an ongoing investigation stemming from raids conducted on October 9 across multiple locations in Pune, during which 19 laptops and 40 mobile phones were seized for forensic analysis. The searches had hinted at the existence of a wider terror network involving radicalised individuals.
The ATS said the investigation into Hangargekar’s activities is underway, and more arrests could follow as digital evidence from seized devices is analysed.
A senior ATS officer said searches at Hangargekar’s residence led to the recovery of incriminating Al-Qaeda literature and digital material used for radicalisation. The officer added that investigators are probing whether the accused was in contact with Al-Qaeda operatives or members of other extremist organisations, and what he intended to do with the material in his possession.
The arrest follows a series of recent operations targeting radical networks in India. Earlier this month, two individuals, Md Adnan Khan alias Abu Muharib (19) from Delhi and Adnan Khan alias Abu Mohammad (20) from Bhopal, were arrested in an Islamic State (IS)-related case.
Investigations revealed that the duo had been radicalised online and were reporting to a handler based in Syria, indicating the continued online resurgence of global terror groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
As per intelligence officials, while these groups lack strong physical bases in India, their digital outreach and radicalisation efforts have intensified, with India-focused operations allegedly coordinated from Syria.
