PUNE: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday arrested Zubair Hangargekar (35), a software engineer from Kondhwa, for allegedly possessing literature linked to the banned terror outfit al-Qaida.
Hangargekar’s arrest followed digital forensic findings that his laptop contained downloaded al-Qaida material, an ATS officer said. “Downloading such material constitutes an offence under relevant laws,” the officer told on condition of anonymity.
The arrest comes after searches conducted on October 9 across multiple locations in Pune as part of an ongoing probe into a suspected ISIS module case. During those raids, the ATS seized 19 laptops and 40 cellphones, all of which were sent for forensic examination.
Hangargekar and a friend were detained early Monday at the Pune railway station shortly after returning from Chennai, where they had reportedly attended a private function. While Hangargekar was formally arrested, his friend remains in custody for questioning.
The software engineer, originally from Solapur, works with an IT firm in Kalyaninagar and specialises in software testing and database development. He is married with two children, and his family lives nearby, police said.
A city court on Monday evening remanded Hangargekar to ATS custody till November 4.
“We are probing whether he had any direct contact with al-Qaida members, what motivated him to possess such material, and whether he had links to other terror groups,” a senior ATS officer said.
Authorities are also analysing his friend’s phone and other digital devices to trace any network or communication trail. The ATS had detained 19 people during the earlier raids in connection with the ISIS probe; all were released after questioning, though investigators had seized several documents and electronic devices for follow-up analysis.
