Maharashtra's elite Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a Thane-based junior engineer on charges of spying, alleging that he provided sensitive defence information to a Pakistani intelligence operative who honey-trapped him online, officials said on Thursday.
The Thane unit of the ATS, with the assistance of the Thane rural police, started searches around 4 am at Padgha and Borivali villages in the district adjoining Mumbai, an official said without giving case details.
A former police official who was part of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) that probed the 2008 Malegaon blast case claimed on Thursday that he had been asked to apprehend RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
In his applications filed before the National Human Rights Commission as well as Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission on Friday, Abdul Wahid Shaikh also requested support for rehabilitation.
A Special NIA court in Mumbai has reserved the judgment in the 2008 Malegaon blast case for July 31. The court said the case has voluminous documents and needs time to deliver the verdict. The blast, which occurred in September 2008, killed six people and injured over 100. Seven accused, including Lt Col Prasad Purohit and BJP leader Pragya Thakur, are facing trial in the case.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) conducted searches at multiple locations in Pune concerning the suspected radicalisation of individuals linked to an ISIS module case. The raids, based on intelligence about radicalised people, led to the seizure of electronic devices and documents, and the questioning of several suspects.
The Bombay High Court has extended the tenure of special NIA judge A K Lahoti, who is conducting trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, till August 31. Lahoti's name featured in the annual transfer list of judges, issued earlier by the registrar general of the high court. The transfer order was to come into effect after the reopening of courts on June 9 following summer vacation. However, a fresh notification mentioned that Lahoti's tenure has been stayed till August 31, enabling him to pass the verdict in the case that is in the final stage of trial.
A special court acquitting seven persons in the 2008 Malegaon blast case has raised serious concerns over allegations of torture and illegal detention by Maharashtra ATS officers. The court noted that witnesses claimed their statements were taken under coercion.
In his bail plea filed recently before the Thane magistrate's court, Verma pleaded innocence, contending that the allegations, even though serious, "are subject to proof beyond reasonable doubt during trial".
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has questioned a teacher in Thane regarding his connection to a Pune-based software engineer arrested for alleged links with Al Qaeda and other banned outfits.
A timeline of the key events in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, culminating in the acquittal of all 12 accused by the Bombay High Court.
Soon after the verdict, celebrations broke out outside Lt Colonel Purohit's residence, where supporters burst firecrackers and distributed sweets to mark the court's decision.
Unfortunately for the prosecution, the chassis number that the investigation was relying on to implicate Pragya failed as the court said in its judgment that the chassis number of the two-wheeler had been wiped out and therefore it could not be connected to Pragya.
An organisation that helped the families of victims in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has expressed displeasure over the acquittal of seven accused and sought to know if they were not involved in the incident, then who were responsible for it.
According to the official, investigations so far have revealed he had transferred funds to the dreaded global terrorist group, also called Islamic State, three times.
Three security establishments in Nashik including army's Deolali camp were recceed by arrested Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror suspect Shaikh Lalbaba Mohammed Hussain for a Lahore Police Academy-type attack, Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad said on Monday.
A witness in the 2008 Malegaon blast case claimed he was tortured and forced by the Maharashtra ATS to name Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The special court acquitted all seven accused, citing unreliable evidence and involuntary statements.
A local court in Nashik on Tuesday extended the police custody of alleged Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Shaikh Lalbaba Mohammed Hussain alias Bilal, nabbed by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in Nashik last week.
A Maharashtra ATS team, involved in Pune explosion probe, is in the Andhra Pradesh capital to coordinate with investigators probing the Hyderabad twin blasts, which is suspected to be the handiwork of Indian Mujahideen.
They were in police custody till Thursday and were produced before the Mazgaon court, where the ATS sought their further remand to interrogate them and ascertain the identity of the 'uncle', who was instructing them from Pakistan.
Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad is grappling with a severe manpower crunch with 283 posts of the total 732 lying vacant, two-and-a-half years after a panel set up to probe state police's response to the Mumbai attacks recommended streamlining the force.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the arrest of Kurulkar is a "very serious matter" and alleged that it exposes the "anti-national face" of the RSS.
Close on the heels of arrest of two prominent Naxals in the neighbouring Thane district on Monday, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Friday said they have nabbed four more members of the group, including three women, from Pune and Nashik.
Police and security forces in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, demolished 44 memorials built by Maoists to instill fear, marking a significant step in combating Naxalite influence in the region.
Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Rakesh Maria and six senior Indian Police Service officers will face a Central Bureau of Investigation probe for allegedly shielding a fellow police official, who was accused of clearing his law exam, without appearing for practical exam, the Bombay high court ordered on Monday.
Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, alleges torture by investigating officers and pressure to implicate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other prominent figures.
A special court acquitted seven individuals in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, challenging the prosecution's assertion that the right-wing group Abhinav Bharat was responsible. The court emphasized that the organization remains unbanned by the government.
Two suspects arrested for allegedly plotting terror strikes on ONCG headquarters and two markets in prime areas in Mumbai had received money from a Pakistani national based in Dubai through a UAE financial firm, says the chargesheet filed by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in a local court.
The First Information Report registered by the ATS also named Anees Ibrahim, Dawood's younger brother and another fugitive.
The Delhi police Special Cell has busted a terror module with links to Pakistan and arrested five suspected operatives after raids across multiple states, an official said on Thursday.
Investigators on Tuesday said that they think at least six newly recruited terrorists could have been involved in placing explosives in the triple bombings. However, there has been no breakthrough in the probe nearly a week after the attack.
A 35-year-old man, suspected to have Maoists links and wanted by West Bengal police, has been arrested from his hideout in Mumbai, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad said on Tuesday.
Deven Bharti, a veteran IPS officer with experience in high-profile cases including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has assumed charge as the new commissioner of Mumbai police. He emphasized the importance of effective policing, citizen engagement, and combating cybercrime as key priorities for his tenure. Bharti, known for his investigative skills, previously served in various roles within the Mumbai Police and Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad.
'Regrettably, the UPA government seems to be caving in to pressures from the BJP to adopt a macho, national-chauvinist, to-hell-with-civil-liberties stance to show that it has the will to fight terrorism.'
Four persons, including a woman, who were held in Surat on Friday on suspicion of being terror suspects wanted by the Mumbai police, were released on Tuesday after it was verified that they were not the same whose sketches were released last week.
For the first time a serving army officer was accused of terrorism.
With the arrest of a Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist from Uttar Pradesh who had done a recce of a dozen sensitive targets in Mumbai, the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad fears three or more terror modules could be operating in the financial capital and newer strategies will have to be devised for busting them.
A detailed timeline of the 2008 Malegaon blasts case, from the initial explosion to the acquittal of all accused in 2025.
Earlier, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested one person from Pune for giving shelter to both the suspected terrorists.
In a twist, the widow of the senior police official with Maharashtra Anti- Terrorism Squad husband did not commit suicide, but he accidentally triggered the firearm that led to his death, police said on Thursday.
