Mumbra teacher under ATS lens over AQIS links

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.

- Ashish Singh

The Pune unit of the ATS on Tuesday raided the Kausa residence of Ibrahim Khalil Abidi, 57, a teacher, and his second 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.