PUNE: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday morning arrested a software engineer, Zubair Hangargekar (35) from Kondhwa, on the charge of possessing literature of the banned terrorist organisation,
al-Qaida.
The ATS also detained Hangargekar's friend at the Pune railway station for questioning soon after the two returned from Chennai. They had gone there to attend a function.
"We arrested Hangargekar because his laptop, among the 19 laptops seized during the searches in the early hours of Oct 9, was found containing downloaded al-Qaida literature. Downloading such material constitutes an offence," an ATS officer, who did not wish to be named, told TOI.
Apart from the 19 laptops, the ATS had seized 40 cellphones during the Oct 9 searches at multiple locations in the city. These gadgets had been sent for digital forensic analysis, the officer said. An ATS team produced Hangargekar before a city court on Monday evening. It ordered his custodial remand till Nov 4.
The officer said Hangargekar held an engineering degree, and was into software testing and database development. Hailing from Solapur, Hangargekar has been working with a software company in Kalyaninagar. He is married and has two children. His brother and other family members stay in a nearby society.
"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 ATS officer said.
The ATS conducted the searches earlier this month in connection with the ongoing investigation into a previous ISIS module case, and it was focused on suspected radicalised people. At that time, 19 people were detained. They were later released after questioning. Authorities seized documents apart from the electronic gadgets.