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Journalism of Courage
The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) has invoked provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against two persons who were arrested by the Pune police on July 18 for stealing a two-wheeler but investigations revealed their alleged involvement in terror activities.
According to the police, investigations have revealed that the accused were allegedly trained in various methods of terror attacks and had conducted “bomb tests” in the jungles of Pune, Kolhapur and Satara districts.
The two were produced in the court of Special Judge V R Kachare in Pune on Tuesday and sent to ATS custody till August 5. The Maharashtra ATS had taken over the investigation on July 22.
The accused, graphic designers Mohammed Imran Mohammed Yusuf Khan (23) and Mohammed Yunus Mohammed Yakub Saki (24) from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, had been named by the Rajasthan Police as accused following recovery of explosives from Chittorgarh district in March 2022, police said.
This case was handed over to the NIA in April 2022. They were absconding in the said case and also carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh.
After their arrest on July 18, the first information report (FIR) was registered by the Pune City Police for theft and forgety, and under the Indian Arms Act and Maharashtra Police Act. During searches at their house in Pune, police recovered suspicious items, including a box with “drone material”, pistol pouch, a cartridge, white powder, fake Aadhaar cards and other documents.
Police said the accused were allegedly trained in carrying out terror attacks and had allegedly tested bombs in the jungles of Pune, Kolhapur and Satara districts. Search is on for their aide Mohammed Shahnawaz Shafiurrehman Alam (31). According to the police, the accused are “members of the Al Sufa” group linked to ISIS.
The white powder recovered from the accused was sent to the forensic science lab (FSL) for further tests after the “explosive vapour detection test” and sniffer dogs of the bomb detection and disposal squad confirmed it to be “explosive material”. The ATS also recovered electronic gadgets from the accused. The ATS team produced suspects Khan and Saki before the special court in Pune today around 4.15 pm.
On Tuesday, Inspector Arun Waykar of ATS told the Special Judge that data retrieved from the electronic gadgets seized from the accused is being investigated and produced printouts of the documents allegedly retrieved from a pen drive seized from the accused.
Waykar told the court that evidence shows that the accused had received training in carrying out terror attacks. Citing a religious text found in the documents seized, Waykar submitted that the accused were even prepared to lay down their lives. The Inspector also informed the court that the accused were “most wanted” and carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh in connection with the Rajasthan explosives case being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
During the hearing, defence lawyer Yashpal Purohit submitted that minimum custody be granted as the accused were already in police custody for the last six days. Purohit later confirmed that the ATS had submitted in court, that the accused allegedly carried out bomb tests in the jungles of Pune, Kolhapur and Satara.
