Pune: An analysis of Al Qaeda suspect Zubair Ilyas Hangargekar’s personal electronic devices like mobile phone and laptop has revealed objectionable content in his Telegram account, Google Takeout data and YouTube search history that needs to be thoroughly investigated by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS), the state prosecution told a special court in the city on Wednesday.The prosecution submitted that Instagram has provided to the ATS information about eight out of the 102 Telegram group IDs held by Hangargekar and the IP (internet protocol) addresses, which refer to a numerical label that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network. Three IP addresses had been traced to Afghanistan and one to Hong Kong and the ATS needed to investigate Hangargekar on this front, the state told the court.On Oct 27, the ATS arrested Hangargekar, a software engineer with an IT firm and a resident of Kondhwa, on the charge of possessing banned Al Qaeda literature. He has been charged with threatening the country’s unity and security by propagating jihad in support of the terrorist organisation Al-Qaida in India Subcontinent (AQIS) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which provides for a total 30 days of police custody remand for investigators.After his initial remand in ATS custody till Nov 16, the ATS had recommended Hangargekar’s remand in judicial custody, reserving its right to seek the remaining 11 days of his ATS custody at an appropriate time as a forensic analysis of his digital devices was on.In the wake of the fresh information coming from the analysis of his electronic devices, the ATS produced Hangargekar before the special court on Wednesday and sought his remand for 11 days. The court ordered his remand in ATS custody till Jan 3. The remand grounds also stated that objectionable information was found during the analysis of data recovered from the electronic devices of his accomplice, who is also a suspect. The prosecution submitted that the accused needs to be questioned further in connection with these findings.
