The Pune unit of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday morning arrested a man from Dapodi area who is allegedly in contact with terror operatives from Jammu and Kashmir through phone messenger groups and is also alleged to have received money for terror-related activities, officers said.
The ATS has identified the man as Junaid Mohammed, who is in his early 20s and hails from Khamgaon town in the state’s Buldhana district. He has been staying with relatives in Dapodi and works at the shop of a scrap dealer, they said.
An ATS officer said, “The suspect has been in contact with alleged terror operatives from Jammu and Kashmir through phone messenger groups. We are also looking at the possibility of some of the contacts being from Pakistan. He has changed his cell phone number several times to try to go undetected and remain in these groups. He was part of several terror-related discussions that were held in the groups. Probe has also revealed that he had received an amount of Rs 10,000 from alleged terror operatives.”
The investigators said Junaid will be produced before a court in Pune later in the afternoon.