1 more arrested in ISIS Maharashtra module case; he fabricated IEDs: NIA

PTI, Aug 5, 2023, 8:15 PM IST

The National Investigation Agency Saturday said it made a major arrest in a case linked to an ISIS terror module, nabbing a suspect who was allegedly involved in the fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

A spokesperson for the federal agency said Aakif Ateeque Nachan was also wanted for arranging a hideout for two other terror operatives in Maharashtra.

He is the sixth accused to be arrested in the case.

Five others — Tabish Nasser Siddiqui from Mumbai, Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba and Adnan Sarkar from Pune, and Sharjeel Shaikh and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala from Thane — were arrested by the agency last month.

”Nachan was found actively involved in the promotion of terror-related activities of the designated foreign terrorist organisation in collaboration with four other arrested accused – Barodawala, Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki and Abdul Kadir Pathan along with some other suspects.

”Khan and Saki, members of the ‘Sufa terrorist gang’ had been declared ‘most wanted’ by the NIA in a case relating to recovery of explosives from a car in Rajasthan in April last year (before their arrest by ATS Pune last month),” the spokesperson said.

The official said Nachan was arrested after a series of raids in Borivali in Thane. Incriminating material including electronic gadgets and documents were also seized during the raids.

Besides assembling IEDs and purchasing material and components for their fabrication, he had facilitated the stay of Khan and Saki at a house in Kondhwa in Pune, the spokesperson said, adding the accused had organised and participated in bomb-making workshops in Kondhwa in 2022. He was also involved in preparation of a demo IED and conduct of a controlled explosion at this location, the spokesperson said.

The official said that according to investigations the accused hatched a conspiracy to further the terrorist activities of ISIS, also known as Islamic State, and had planned to commit terrorist acts to disturb unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of the country, and wage a war against the Government of India.