ATS catches one of Malwani four in Pune

The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) caught one of the four Malwani men - who had disappeared after leaving home on December 15 - in Pune's Wakad area yesterday evening. He was brought to the ATS headquarters in Nagpada late last night, and will be interrogated further. However, he has not been arrested.

Also read: Missing Malwani man suspected to have joined ISIS tried contacting family

Wajid Sheikh had disappeared on December 15

The person has been identified as Wajid Sheikh (25). On the afternoon of December 15, he told his family members that he had to get his name corrected on his Aadhar card, after which he never returned home. He had left his mobile phone at home, which was taken by the ATS for investigation. Wajid was an employee at a Malad-based call centre company.

Also read: Mumbai to Syria - More men from Malwani have joined ISIS

Special IG (ATS) Niket Kaushik said, "Missing person Abdul Wajid Sheikh was traced by the ATS. Further inquiries are being done. He has not been arrested." Another ATS officer said, "We will thoroughly interrogate him and try to locate others with Wajid's help."

Family relieved
After mid-day broke the story on Monday, the ATS is investigating the case and taking help of other agencies. Wajid's family is happy and relieved that their son has not left the country. His brother-in-law Asif said, "We are extremely happy and relieved after receiving the news that Wajid has been found. For the last few days, we were extremely worried and feared the worst."

Also read: 3 Mumbai men have left to join ISIS, reveals Anti Terrorism Squad

A day after he went missing, Wajid's wife went to the police station and registered a missing persons complaint. She told the cops that they would have several fights because Wajid was veering towards jihad and the ISIS' ideology. She gave her statement to the ATS, after which the news of men missing from Malwani broke.