NIA makes 6th arrest in Maharashtra ISIS module case
Aug 05, 2023
New Delhi [India], August 5 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday made a sixth arrest in the ISIS Maharashtra module case for his involvement in the fabrication and testing of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) for the commission of terrorist acts and arranging a hideout for two other terror operatives.
This is the sixth arrest by NIA in the ISIS Maharashtra module case, relating to the ISIS conspiracy to disrupt the nation’s peace. The case was registered by NIA on June 28, 2023.
"NIA took into custody one Aakif Ateeque Nachan and was found actively involved in the promotion of the terror-related activities of ISIS, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation, in collaboration with four other accused, namely Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki and Abdul Kadir Pathan (all arrested recently by ATS Pune), along with some other suspects. Imran Khan and Mohammed Yunus Saki, members of ‘Sufa terrorist gang’ were absconding and had been declared ‘most wanted' by the NIA in a case relating to the recovery of explosives from a car in Rajasthan in April 2022,' NIA stated.
The NIA nabbed Aakif after a series of raids in Borivali, Tehsil Bhivandi in Thane. Several incriminating materials, such as electronic gadgets and documents etc., were also seized during the raids.
Besides the assembly of IEDs and purchasing materials and components for the fabrication of IEDs, Aakif facilitated the stay of Imran and Yunus at a house in Kondhwa, Pune.
"The accused had organised and participated in Bomb-making Workshops in Kondhwa in 2022 and had also been involved in the preparation of a demo IED and conduct of a controlled explosion at this location," it stated.
As per NIA investigations, the accused had hatched a conspiracy to further the terrorist activities of ISIS (also known as Islamic State (IS)/Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL)/Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)/Daish/ Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)/ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham Khorasan (ISIS-K)). He had planned to commit terrorist acts to disturb the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of the country, and wage a war against the Government of India, it stated.
Last month, the NIA arrested five accused, Tabish Nasser Siddiqui from Mumbai, Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba from Pune, and Sharjeel Shaikh and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala from Thane and Dr Adnan Sarkar from Kondhva, Pune. The arrests had followed extensive searches by the NIA in Mumbai, Thane and Pune.
