Techie linked to ‘Al-Qaeda’: ATS probes Telegram IDs from Afghanistan, Hong Kong; Ijtema and ‘sports activity camp’ in Padgha

The ATS submitted to the court that details of 102 IDs in Hangargekar’s Telegram group have been received from Instagram. Of these IDs, three have Afghanistan Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, while one IP address is of Hong Kong. The ATS said Hangargekar’s custody was required for probing into these suspicious Telegram IDs

The ATS also told the court about the information gathered from Hangargekar regarding an “Ijtema” and a “physical, sports activity camp” held for youngsters at Padgha in Thane district in 2021. The ATS has conducted a “discovery panchanama” of the spot.

Earlier, in separate cases, the ATS as well as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested multiple ISIS terror operatives from Padgha, who had allegedly self-declared the village as a ‘liberated zone’ named ‘Al Sham” and motivated other impressionable Muslim youth to relocate there to strengthen their base. The ATS is now probing Hangargekar’s links with the alleged terror activities in Padgha.

Also, according to the ATS, a probe into Hangargekar’s activities revealed details about a location where a person named “Abu Anas”, a suspected terror operative, had shown videos of Khilafat and ISIS and also given some data in 2015.

Besides, the ATS has found objectionable information from Hangargekar’s Youtube search history and other data seized from him and the suspicious persons in his contact. The court sent Hangargekar to ATS custody till January 3 for further investigation.

The ATS arrested Hangargekar on October 27 from Pune under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), alleging that he was trying to recruit people for the banned terror groups “Al-Qaeda/ Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)) and all its manifestations”.

A native of Solapur district in Maharashtra, Hangargekar was working with a software company at Kalyani Nagar in Pune city. He studied at the Solapur Social Association Urdu High School, before completing his BE degree from the Walchand Institute of Technology, Solapur. After shifting to Pune, he initially worked at a prominent IT company in Hinjewadi.

Sources in the ATS said for over 15 years, Hangargekar has been working in the software industry, but still has an orthodox mindset, with strict adherence to Sharia.

The ATS probe had revealed that he was preaching youngsters that “democracy is against Shariat”. Probe also revealed that Hangargekar created Telegram groups where topics such as “Ghazwa-e-Hind” and “replacing democracy with Shariat” were allegedly discussed.

ATS officials said Hangargekar allegedly got radicalised after meeting terror suspects from Pune and Hyderabad in 2015. “Hangargekar was extensively reading books and content produced by radical preachers from the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, including top-tier Al-Qaeda ideologues. He has studied major Al-Qaeda attacks in depth, including the 9/11 attack in the USA,” ATS sources said.