ATS questions Thane teacher over Pune engineer’s Al-Qaeda links

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has questioned a teacher from Thane in connection with the arrest of Pune-based software engineer Zubair Hangargekar, who was held for his alleged links with Al-Qaeda and other banned organisations, officials said on Wednesday.According to officials, the teacher’s house in Mumbra, Thane district, was reportedly used for one of the meetings held by the arrested engineer. The ATS team visited the teacher’s residence on Tuesday and questioned him about Hangargekar’s visit and the nature of the meeting.“The teacher is neither an accused nor a witness in the case at this stage,” an official clarified.
According to information,Hangargekar, 37, was arrested on October 27 by the Maharashtra ATS for his suspected involvement in radicalisation activities and his alleged association with banned terror outfits, including Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).During investigations, the ATS discovered a Pakistani contact number saved in an old mobile phone belonging to Hangargekar. Further inquiry revealed that he had travelled to Mumbra for a meeting, prompting the agency to question those present, including the teacher.
Earlier, the ATS informed a Pune court that Hangargekar had been delivering religious discourses “aggressively” in Pune’s Kondhwa area. A search of his residence led to the seizure of multiple mobile phones containing deleted PDF files titled ‘Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and All Its Manifestations.’Investigators also recovered an Urdu translation of a speech delivered by former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on Eid-ul-Fitr, along with a copy of the magazine ‘Inspire’, which featured images of AK-47 training at the OSG Gun School and documents describing procedures to make improvised explosive devices (IEDs) using acetone peroxide.The ATS further stated that during searches, an old phone belonging to Hangargekar was recovered from another person. Analysis of the device revealed five international phone numbers saved in the contact list — one from Pakistan, two from Saudi Arabia, and one each from Kuwait and Oman.However, the agency clarified that the call detail records (CDRs) of the recovered phone did not indicate any outgoing or incoming calls to these international contacts.