The Maharashtra police’s Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Thursday raided the homes and offices of 19 suspects in different parts of Pune in connection with the alleged ISIS terror funding and firearms supply case of 2023. As per a press statement issued by the ATS, the raids were carried out in Kondhwa, Khadak, Wanavdi, Khadki and Bhosari areas of Pune. A huge police force was deployed in locations where the raids were carried out. The raids and search operation started early morning and concluded late evening on Thursday. While the ATS sleuths questioned the suspects, so far, the agency has not confirmed any arrests during the ongoing operation. Police confirmed that electronic devices such as hard discs, pen drives, some documents and other material was seized during the search. Further investigation is on, they said. A vehicle theft and a house search On July 18, 2023, policemen Amol Najan and Pradip Chavan nabbed three men in Pune city’s Kothrud area around 2.30 am on suspicion of vehicle theft. The police had identified the suspects as Mohammed Shahnawaz Alam (31) alias Shafi alias Abdulla of Jharkhand, Mohammed Yusuf Khan (25) and Mohammed Yunus Mohammed Yakub Saki (27), both from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, and were found to be living in Pune’s Kondhwa. While the police were taking them for a house search in Kondhwa, Alam allegedly escaped, but was later arrested by the Delhi police in October that year. Meanwhile, the house search led to the seizure of suspicious items like “drone material”, some white powder, a pistol pouch, and a live cartridge. Subsequently, an FIR was lodged against them at the Kothrud police station under sections 468 (forgery), 379 (theft), 511 (offence punishable with imprisonment), and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, as well as sections of the Indian Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act. ‘Pune ISIS module’ According to the probe, Khan and Saki were members of the Al Sufa terrorist gang linked to the ISIS. Both had been declared “most wanted” by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a case relating to the seizure of explosives from a car in Rajasthan in March 2022. The ATS then took over the probe from the Pune police on July 22, 2023. Forensic investigation confirmed the white powder seized from the accused by the police in Pune was an explosive substance. The ATS invoked sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the suspects for their alleged involvement in terrorist activities, while posing as “graphic designers” in Pune. The ATS also claimed to have seized bomb-making material such as “chemical powder, charcoal, thermometer, dropper, soldering gun, multimeter, small bulbs, batteries, alarm clock” from the men. It arrested a few more suspects, including Abdul Kadir Pathan, an IT engineer, S N Kazi, and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, for allegedly providing shelter and funds. The ATS had seized maps, Urdu, and Arabic literature, and retrieved approximately 500 GB of data from the electronic devices of the accused, which contained images of various locations in Pune and other areas, including the Chabad House in Mumbai. The investigation was later handed over to the NIA on August 8, 2023, which has said all these accused are part of a separate ‘Pune ISIS module’. Investigators alleged the accused tested the bombs at a secluded spot in the Ghat section in Pune, along with certain locations in the forest areas of Satara and Kolhapur. Probe had also revealed that Barodawala and his associates even allegedly “shared relevant material, including ‘Do It Yourself kits (DIY)’ among themselves for the fabrication of IEDs and manufacture of small weapons, pistols…” An armed robbery in Satara The probe by the NIA and ATS has revealed that three of the operatives in the Pune ISIS module case – Saki, Alam and Zulfkar Ali Barodawala (44) had conspired to loot a sari shop owner in Satara in April 2023. The ATS arrested the three suspects in March 2024 for allegedly threatening the Satara shopowner, Ashok Kumar, at gunpoint and robbing him of around Rs 1 lakh in cash. The ATS had then submitted to the court that a part of the proceeds from the armed robbery in Satara was used by the suspects to purchase components to assemble a bomb and for terror funding. Meanwhile, in November 2023, the NIA charge-sheeted seven accused, including Khan, Saki, Pathan, Kazi, Barodawala, Akif Nachan and Shamil Nachan in the Pune ISIS module case. Further, in March 2024, a chargesheet was filed against Alam and three wanted accused: Rizwan Ali of Delhi, Abdulla Faiyaz Shaikh alias Daiperwala, and Talha Liyakat Khan of Kondhwa, Pune. Rizwan Ali was arrested by the Delhi police’s Special Cell in August 2024. The NIA took his custody in July this year. Before that, in May this year, the NIA arrested Abdulla Shaikh and Talha after they “were intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration at the Mumbai International Airport” when they returned to India from Jakarta where they had been “hiding”. In June this year, the ATS arrested Talha in connection with the Satara robbery and terror funding case.
