Pak number, Osama’s speech found in cellphones of Pune techie linked to Al-Qaida

The ATS submitted in court that five international numbers, including one from Pakistan, two from Saudi Arabia, one from Kuwait and one from Oman, were found on Hargargekar’s old cellphone recovered from the house of one Feroz Pathan. It also submitted that one more number from Oman and four from Saudi Arabia were found on the cellphone that Hangargekar was currently using.

According to the ATS, the Call Detail Records (CDRs) does not show that international phone calls were made from Hargargekar’s cellphone. But when asked about the international contact numbers saved on his cellphones, Hangargekar did not give satisfactory answers, said prosecution lawyer Vijay Fargade, in the court on Tuesday.

While seeking an extension of his custody, the ATS said they recovered about 1 TB data from his cellphones, laptop and other devices.

According to the ATS, an Urdu translation of Osama Bin Laden’s speech (the Al-Qaida founder who was killed in Pakistan in May 2011) was retrieved from the cellphone found at Hangargekar’s residence at Zamir Apartment in Kondhwa Khurd, Pune.

The ATS submitted that one “Inspire Magazine”, also retrieved from the cellphone, carried information such as “OSJ Gun School” having photographs of “training with AK-47 rifles” and “OSJ Bomb School” with details of making acetone peroxide Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

The ATS sent a questionnaire about the bomb-making procedure found in the magazine to the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Pune. A confidential report given to the ATS by HEMRL on November 3 was submitted to the court on Tuesday.

The ATS has alleged Hangargekar was trying to recruit people for banned terror groups of “Al-Qaida / Al-Qaida in Indian subcontinent and all its manifestations”.

The ATS told the court that Hangargekar spoke “aggressively” during his “Dars (lectures) on Quran, Hadith as well as Khilafat at a location in Kondhwa. It submitted that a day after Hangargekar’s arrest, a person in his contact allegedly shifted some suspicious literature and documents from the spot and burnt it at a madrasa in Kalepadal area. The ATS said some partially burnt papers found at the place were sent for forensic test. It claimed to be an attempt to destroy evidence against the accused. ATS told the court they have seized a CCTV video showing the burning of suspicious material.

ATS submitted in the court that Hangagekar and his colleagues were setting question papers for the annual “Sirat-un-Nabi” quiz competition organised by “Wahdat-e-Islami”. They also checked the papers and the winners are given different prizes. ATS told the court that a probe was on to know whether the accused was trying to find out, radicalise and recruit hardliners among them into the Al-Qaida.

ATS submitted in the court a list of persons whose statements were recorded as they were found closely linked to Hangargekar. They included an Urdu PhD scholar and former lecturer at the National Defence Academy (NDA), who was earlier arrested and convicted under the Arms Act, but freed of terror conspiracy charges in the 2002-2003 Mumbai serial blasts cases. ATS has so far seized 12 cellphones, six laptops, four hard discs, two pen drives and a Sim card from Hangargekar and his contacts for investigation.

ATS is also probing Hangargekar’s financial transactions, suspecting that he was collecting funds for terror activities. ATS submitted in court they have found his “OR code” at the locations where he gave lectures. Besides, ATS has seized several books, literature and reports during his house search.

Police sources said Hangargekar was residing in Pune with his wife and child. A native of Solapur district in Maharashtra, he is known to be a highly qualified software professional.

‘Not getting sufficient sleep’

Hangargekar told the court he had no complaints against the police, but was not getting sufficient time to sleep due to continuous and rigorous interrogations. He said that lack of proper sleep would affect his mental health. The court then directed the ATS investigation officer to ensure that the accused gets sufficient sleep, so that he would be able to respond to the interrogation properly.