BIG Success For NIA: 15 ISIS Terrorists Arrested; Accused Declared Maharashtra Village 'Liberated Zone'

In a big crackdown on the ISIS module running in India, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested 15 accused including a self-proclaimed leader with self-assumed rights to administer ‘Bayath’ of a Maharashtra village. The accused had declared Maharashtra village as a 'Liberated Zone' and were using it for their training. They also recovered a huge haul of weapons, cash, digital devices and Hamas flags from their possession.

In a massive crackdown on ISIS, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) with the cooperation and active support of Maharashtra Police and ATS Maharashtra, today arrested 15 operatives of the banned terror outfit during multiple and widespread raids across Maharashtra and Karnataka and busted the Maharashtra module of the terror outfit.

#BreakingNews | ISIS मॉड्यूल पर NIA को बड़ा एक्शन, महाराष्ट्र मॉड्यूल का सरगना गिरफ्तार #ISIS #DroneAttack #NIARaid | @JournoPranay pic.twitter.com/JfpMRdXYIf — Zee News (@ZeeNews) December 9, 2023

NIA teams swooped down on as many as 44 locations in Padgha-Borivali, Thane, Mira Road and Pune in Maharashtra, and Bengaluru in Karnataka early this morning, and apprehended the 15 accused for promoting terror and terror-related acts and activities of the proscribed organisation.

The accused, operating on the directions of their foreign handlers, had been actively involved in various terrorist activities, including the fabrication of IEDs, for furthering the violent and destructive agenda of ISIS, as per NIA investigations.

Huge amounts of unaccounted cash, firearms, sharp-edged weapons, incriminating documents, smartphones and other digital devices were seized during the raids, conducted as part of NIA’s ongoing efforts to disrupt and demolish the attempts of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to carry out violent acts of terror and take innocent lives. The seizures included one pistol, two air guns, eight swords/knives, two laptops, six hard disks, three CDs, 38 mobile phones, 10 magazine books, Rs 68,03,800 in cash and 51 Hamas flags.

NIA investigations have revealed that the accused, all members of the ISIS Maharashtra module, were operating from Padgha-Borivali, where they had hatched the conspiracy to spread terror and violence across India. Pursuing the path of violent Jihad, Khilafat, ISIS etc., the accused had aimed to disturb the peace and communal harmony of the country and to wage a war against the Government of India.

Initial investigations have revealed that the arrested accused had self-declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as a ‘liberated zone’ and as ‘Al Sham’. They were motivating impressionable Muslim youth to relocate to Padgha from their place of residence to strengthen the Padgha base.

Mohd. Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan aka Raveesh aka Saquib aka Khalid, the main accused and the self-declared leader of the arrested persons, had self-assumed the rights of administering ‘bayath’ (oath of alliance towards the Khalifa of ISIS) to the persons joining the proscribed organisation.

Apart from the key accused, others arrested during today’s crackdown have been identified as Hasib Zuber Mulla @ Haseeb Zubair Mulla, Kashif Abdul Sattar Balere, Saif Ateeque Nachan, Rehan Ashfaque Suse, Shagaf Safiq Divkar, Firoz Dastagir Kuwari, Adil Iliyas Khot, Firoz Dastagir Kuwari, Adil Iliyas Khot, Musab Haseeb Mulla, Rafil Abdul Latif Nachan, Yahya Ravish Khot, Razil Abdul Latif Nachan, Farhan Ansar Suse, Mukhlis Maqbool Nachan and Munzir Abubakar Kunnathpeedikal. All the accused originally hailed from district Thane of Maharashtra.

While Adil Khot was found in possession of the flags, the weapons (guns, knives and swords) were recovered from Firoz Dastagir Kuwan, Razil Abxul Nachan, Zeeshan Ajaz Mulla and Mukhlis Maqbool Nachan. The cash was seized from Saif Ateeque Nachan, Rehan Ashfaq Suse and Atif Nasir Mulla.

ISIS is a global terror organisation, also known as Islamic State (IS) / Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) / Daish / Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) / ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham Khorasan (ISIS-K)). The outfit has been spreading its terror network in India by putting in place localized modules across the country.

NIA had taken over the instant case on 6th November 2023 under various sections of IPC, UA(P) Act and Explosive Substances Act, on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The case was previously being probed by the Special Cell of Delhi Police, following the arrest of three ISIS terrorists, Shahnawaz Alam, Mohammad Rizwan Ashraf and Mohammad Arshad Warsi, on the basis of credible source information.

Since taking over the case, the NIA has undertaken strong and concerted actions to destroy the various ISIS modules and networks. NIA has, in recent months, conducted large-scale raids and busted different ISIS modules by arresting several terror operatives in the ISIS terror conspiracy case in a bid to scuttle the organisation’s heinous and violent anti-India agenda.