Massive ATS-Pune Police Crackdown in Pune: 18 Detained Amid Terror Link Investigation
Maharashtra ATS and Pune Police raid multiple Pune locations in overnight anti-terror operation; 18 detained amid intelligence on possible extremist links.
Pune, October 09, 2025: A joint operation by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Pune Police has sparked intense activity in Pune’s Kondhwa area, following credible intelligence inputs suggesting possible terror connections. The massive overnight operation, which began late Wednesday and extended into Thursday morning, covered more than 20 locations across Kondhwa, Khadki, Khadak, Wanwadi, and Bhosari, resulting in the detention and questioning of at least 18 individuals so far.
According to senior officials, the raids were part of a large-scale preventive action against suspected anti-national elements. “A coordinated team of over 700 officers — including 200 ATS personnel and nearly 500 from Pune Police — conducted simultaneous searches,” confirmed DCP Nikhil Pingale. The operation, described as one of the most extensive in recent years, aimed to dismantle any emerging terror network within the city.
Authorities have seized several documents, digital devices, and evidence believed to be crucial to ongoing national security investigations. While details of the seized materials remain classified, sources suggest that the probe is linked to prior arrests connected to extremist networks in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Officials emphasized that the operation remains highly sensitive and that follow-up raids could be conducted depending on the intelligence trail.
The overnight action is reportedly an offshoot of an earlier probe in Kothrud, where two individuals were apprehended on suspicion of terror links. Interrogation of those suspects pointed toward a “Pune module” possibly tied to sleeper cells operating under international extremist influence. Investigators believe that Kondhwa may have served as a training and logistics hub, drawing parallels with earlier ISIS-linked cases uncovered in the city.
This development has also revived focus on the 2023 ISIS-linked Pune terror case, where multiple suspects were arrested for allegedly plotting bomb blasts in key urban centers like Mumbai, Pune, and parts of Gujarat. That probe revealed that the accused had conducted bomb-making trials in the forests of Kolhapur and Satara, with several sessions reportedly held in Kondhwa itself.
Among those previously arrested were Mohammad Shahanaz Alam, Rizwan Ali, Abdullah Shaikh, Talah Liaqat Khan, Mohammad Imran alias Matka, Mohammad Yunus alias Adil, and several others linked to cells in Ratlam (MP), Thane, and Pune. One suspect, Mohammad Alam, had dramatically escaped police custody during questioning in Kondhwa but was later apprehended by the Delhi Police Special Cell in November 2023. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) subsequently filed a detailed chargesheet in Mumbai, identifying the Pune network as a key node in the broader ISIS conspiracy.
The latest ATS-Pune Police joint action appears to be a continuation of that investigation, aimed at locating possible remnants of the same module. Intelligence sources said the goal is to identify sleeper cells, disrupt local radicalization networks, and prevent recruitment efforts targeting youth in tech and education hubs around Pune.
For now, police teams continue to question detainees, cross-verifying data from seized electronics and communication devices. The operation underscores heightened vigilance amid India’s broader counter-terror efforts and reflects Pune’s growing importance in national security intelligence mapping.
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