On Saturday (9th December), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) cracked down on an ISIS module, running in the State of Maharashtra. The central agency conducted raids at 44 locations and apprehended a total of 15 people. One of the arrested men is a former terrorist named Saquib Nachan.
According to the NIA, the 63-year-old is the kingpin of the newly busted ISIS module. Saquib Nachan had himself administered the ‘oath of allegiance to the Caliphate’ to the recruits of the terror outfit. Under his guidance, the ISIS module was planning to carry out violence and destruction in the country.
Saquib, a native of Borivli Village in Padgha town of the Thane district of Maharashtra, reportedly wanted to disturb the communal peace in the country and wage war against the Governmnent of India. He was pursuing the path of Khilafat, ISIS and violent jihad.
Saquib Nachan and his involvement in 3 bomb blasts
Saquib Nachan is not new to the world of terror. As per a report by The Times of India, he has been at the helm of carrying out 3 bomb blasts within a span of 4 months (6th December 2002 to 13th March 2003).
He targeted busy railway stations and markets to maximise the impact of his terror plots. The first blast took place on 6th December 2002 at a McDonald’s joint in the Mumbai Central railway station. Although no one was killed, a total of 25 people sustained injuries.
Saquib Nachan orchestrated the second attack in a market in Ville Parle (East) on 27th January 2003. In that blast, one person and 25 others were injured. The third attack, which was carried out by Saquib inside a train coach at the Mulund station on 13th March 2003, was the deadliest of all.
A total of 11 people were killed and 82 others were injured in the blast. Saquib was arrested by Mumbai police on April 10, 2003, and served 8 years in jail. He was thereafter released on bail on a bond of ₹1 lakh.
The Maharashtra police arrested the terrorist yet again on 4th August 2012 in connection to an attempted murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activist Manoj Raicha. He was released on bail in August 2014.
His conviction in the blast case finally came in March 2016. Saquib spent less than 2 years as a convict before being freed in November 2017. His release came 5 months earlier than expected on account of being ‘disciplined’ in jail.
On being released from jail, he remarked, “I respect the judiciary system and after my release I wish to spend quality time with my family members…The prison authorities and conditions in the jail are proper. Now, as a grandfather, I would bring up my grandchildren.”
Saquib Nachan and his involvement in terror activities before 2000s
As per a report by The Indian Express, Saquib Nachan has been involved in terror activities since 1991. He is ranked 3rd in the country in terms of masterminding the maximum number of bombings.
He has been accused of fighting alongside other Mujahideen during the Afghan Jihad and sending Indian Muslims to receive training in terrorism from Pakistan.
Saquib Nachan holds a B.Com degree and has served as the general secretary of the banned Islamic terror outfit, SIMI. He was part of the radical Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in his formative years.
A CBI chargesheet dating back to 1992 read, “During 1990, he visited Pakistan twice. His real purpose was to meet Salahuddin Sudani and Abdur-Rahim-Rasool Sayyef to discuss ways and means to train Muslim youths in arms, ammunition and explosives. Till 1991 he was sending Sikh youths to Pakistan for military training.”
Saquib Nachan was accused of being involved in the murder of 2 Hindu lawyers and a Muslim for supposedly working against the ‘Muslim community.’ He is believed to be a part of Pakistani ISI’s plan to strengthen the Khalistani separatist movement in India.
In mid-1992, he was convicted by Gujarat court and then the Supreme Court for involvement in terrorism.
NIA uncovers Maharashtra ISIS module
On 9th December 2023, Saquib Nachan was arrested by the NIA for heading an ISIS module in Maharashtra.
As per the initial investigation by the central agency, the former terrorist had self-declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as a ‘liberated zone‘ and as ‘Al-Sham’. Seemingly areas in Syria are referred to with such notations.
NIA revealed in its official press release that he was at the helm of motivating impressionable Muslim youth to relocate to Padgha from their place of residence to strengthen the Padgha base.
Son of Saquib Nachan arrested by NIA
On 11th August this year, the National Investigation Agency arrested Shamil Nachan, the son of terrorist Saquib Nachin, in connection to a Pune ISIS module. As per reports, the central agency discovered incriminating evidence from his home in Thane.
Shamil was sent to judicial custody by a special court. He along with other five other accused assembled Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at a house in Pune. He had also organised a bomb (IED) assembly and training workshop in the same location in 2022.