Maharashtra ATS Raids 10 Locations in Pune Linked to Al-Qaida Literature Case, Seizes Phones and Documents
Pune, 31st October 2025: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) carried out late-night searches at ten locations in the city’s Kondhwa and Mominpura areas between Tuesday and Wednesday as part of its ongoing investigation into alleged links with banned terror outfit Al-Qaida. During the operation, officials seized ten mobile phones and several documents written in Urdu and Arabic.
According to ATS sources, the seized mobile phones belong to ten individuals — including three residents of Mominpura — who were reportedly in contact with Zubair Hangargekar (37), a software engineer from Kondhwa arrested earlier this week. Hangargekar was taken into custody on Monday morning from Pune railway station shortly after returning from Chennai, where he had attended a private event.
A senior ATS officer said investigators are now examining the digital and physical material collected during the latest searches.
“The mobile phones have been sent for forensic analysis, and the documents recovered from the houses of these individuals are being scrutinised. We are also verifying the extent of their communication with Hangargekar,” the officer said.
The ATS had earlier conducted multiple raids across Pune on October 9, during which 19 electronic devices, including laptops, were seized.
Subsequent forensic analysis revealed that Hangargekar’s laptop contained material related to the proscribed terror organisation Al-Qaida.
Officials suspect that Hangargekar had been in touch with several local youths. Investigators are now trying to determine whether any of them were influenced or recruited.
Hangargekar, who is accused of possessing and sharing extremist literature, is currently in custody till November 4 as the investigation continues.
