Maharashtra ATS arrests Pune man for sheltering two terror suspects held earlier

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Thursday said it has arrested a Pune-based man for allegedly giving shelter to the two terror suspects held last week by the city police. The ATS said it also recovered black “explosive” powder, laptops, parts of drones, books written in Arabic, among other things from the two terror suspects, in addition to a tent that the duo had allegedly procured to stay in the forest areas in Pune’s adjoining districts. The ATS took over the probe into the case from the Pune police recently. The two terror suspects, wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for their alleged involvement in a terror-related case in Rajasthan, were nabbed from Kothrud area of Pune city in the wee hours of 18 July. A court in Pune later remanded the duo - Mohammad Imran Mohammad Yunus Khan (23) and Mohammad Yunus Mohammad Yakub Saki (24) - in police custody till 25 July, which was extended till 25 August. “On Wednesday, a person was arrested for giving shelter to Khan and Saki in Pune,” the ATS said in a release. It, however, did not reveal the name of that person. The ATS has also detained a person from Ratnagiri, but it is not yet clear whether that man is the same person held for giving shelter to the terror suspects. The two arrested suspects hail from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh and are graphic designers. Both carried a bounty of Rs 5 lakh each, the police said. They fled Ratlam after coming to know that their names cropped up in the investigation in the terror case in which some suspected members of the Al-Sufa outfit were apprehended by the Rajasthan police from the Madhya Pradesh town, the police said. They landed in Mumbai, where they stayed in the Bhendi Bazaar area for two to three days and then came to Pune’s Kondhwa area. The duo took up jobs with the help of a local resident, the sources said. They befriended a third person, a resident of Jharkhand, who managed to escape when the police nabbed the duo, they said. The ATS said that they recovered a tent, which the two terror suspects had procured to live in the jungle areas. Several items, such as laptops, tablets, weighing machines, parts of drones, maps, electric circuits, a soldering gun, black powder, and books written in Arabic, were also recovered from the duo, it said. “During the analysis of the black powder, it came to light that it was an explosive substance,” it said. The ATS also added that they also recovered a tent, which they had procured to live in jungle areas. Sources said that the two terror suspects were exploring possible hideouts in the jungle areas surrounding the Pune district in a bid to escape the eyes of the investigation agencies. After taking over the investigation in the case, the ATS has slapped stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the suspects as the seized items suggest that the duo had received training on making bombs and posed a threat to the unity and security of the nation, they said. The ATS also said in its statement that multiple teams were working to trace the third suspect, who managed to escape during the operation on 18 July.