Mumbra Teacher Under ATS Lens For Alleged Links With Arrested Software Engineer Connected To AQIS

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has searched the residences of a Mumbra-based teacher over alleged links with a Pune-based software engineer who was arrested last month for suspected connections with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and other banned outfits, officials said on Wednesday.

The Pune unit of the ATS on Tuesday raided the Kausa residence of Ibrahim Khalil Abidi (57), a teacher, and his 2nd home in Kurla. According to officials, Abidi is suspected to be in contact with an AQIS sympathiser and had maintained communication with Zubair Hangargekar, a software engineer arrested from Pune’s Kondhwa area on October 27 for his alleged role in radicalisation activities and maintaining contact with AQIS-linked operatives.

During the probe, the ATS learned that Hangargekar had visited Abidi’s Mumbra residence for a meeting prior to his arrest. Officials said Abidi is associated with a local madrassa and teaches Urdu every Sunday at a mosque in Kurla. Sources added that investigators are examining whether he attempted to influence minors with radical ideologies during his teaching sessions.

According to officials, the ATS team visited Abidi’s residence on Tuesday to verify details of his interactions with Hangargekar. “At present, Abidi has not been named as an accused or a witness in the case,” an officer clarified. Another senior official added, “Searches were conducted at two locations, one in Kondhwa, Pune, and another in Mumbra and both individuals were questioned. There is no link between Hangargekar and the recent Delhi blast.”

During the operation at Kaifiyat Housing Society in Mumbra, the ATS seized Abidi’s mobile phone, the devices of his wife and son, and the hard disk of his computer for forensic analysis. The team also searched the Kurla residence of Abidi’s first wife, who is being questioned. Officials said Abidi remarried during the Covid-19 period and has been living in Mumbra with his second wife for about five years.

A senior ATS officer confirmed that Abidi has been summoned for questioning. “We have recovered digital material and are verifying his online activity and contacts. The contents will be examined before deciding the next course of action,” the officer said.

Abidi’s wife, Mahjabin Tabassum, told The Free Press Journal that her husband had served as a professor at Saboo Siddik College in Nagpada for 35 years, and that he is presently involved only in religious and ideological discussions about ‘Rasul and Allah’, denying any association with terrorist organisations or extremist activity. “The Pune ATS team of around 15 officers searched our home for nearly three hours but found nothing,” she said.

According to ATS officials, the search and investigation are linked to Hangargekar’s suspected role in promoting extremist ideology and attempting to radicalise youth through online platforms. During the search at Hangargekar’s residence, the agency recovered mobile phones containing deleted PDF files titled ‘Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and All Its Manifestations’, an Urdu translation of a speech by Osama bin Laden, a copy of Inspire magazine, and documents detailing methods for making explosives using acetone peroxide.

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The ATS has registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and launched a wider probe into Hangargekar’s contacts and digital communications to identify possible links with AQIS operatives. Hangargekar, who worked as a database developer with a Pune-based IT firm, remains in ATS custody for further interrogation.

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