In a major development in the 2023 Maharashtra ISIS terror module case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) informed on 7th November that it has secured the conviction of an accused terrorist, Dr Adnanali Sarkar. The Special NIA court in Mumbai sentenced Dr Adnanali Sarkar to six years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 65,000.
“The Special Court (NIA), Mumbai, convicted him under sections 13, 18, 20, 38 and 39 of the UA (P) Act and sections 201 and 120-B of the IPC. He was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a maximum period of 6 years, and a total fine of Rs. 65,000 was imposed on him,” the NIA statement reads.
Sarkar received a set-off for time spent in custody since his July 2023 arrest.
The NIA further stated that during the probe, it exposed “a larger conspiracy involving international linkages and foreign-based ISIS handlers, in which the accused were involved in propagating the extremist ideology of ISIS, recruitment, raising funds for terrorist activities and circulating ISIS propaganda magazines, including ‘Voice of Hind’ and ‘Voice of Khurasan’.”
Conviction secured in Maharashtra ISIS Terror module case https://t.co/h67WiXdfbp
— NIA India (@NIA_India) November 8, 2026
Amid social media debate over six years jail term coming across as a lenient punishment for someone convicted for acts like terrorism, it is pertinent to recall what the 2023 Maharashtra ISIS terror module case was and who is Dr Adnanali Sarkar.
The Maharashtra ISIS terror module
In July 2023, the Pune Police arrested one Shahnawaz and two people from MP, Mohammad Imran Khan and Mohammad Saki, in connection with the theft of a two-wheeler in Pune. Shahnawaz managed to escape.
After further investigation, a larger Maharashtra ISIS terror module was uncovered.
Three terrorists, identified as Talha Liaquat Khan of Pune and Rizwan Abdul Haji Ali and Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh of Delhi, were on the Pune Police’s most wanted list.
The Delhi Police caught Shahnawaz in October last year. It was revealed that Shahnawaz’s wife was a Hindu named Basanti Patel who converted to Islam and was known as Mariyam. The search for Mariyam and her sister is ongoing.
Shahnawaz was a graduate from Nagpur’s NIT with a BTech in mining. According to the NIA, Shahnawaz has links with the Barodawala, who is reportedly the mastermind and financier of the Pune ISIS terror module.
Barodawala provided training and money to Mohammad Imran, Yunus, and Shahnawaz. Moreover, Akif Atiq Nachan, the IED expert, had hidden Imran and Yunus. Mohammad Imran is a graphic designer.
Akid stayed in the Kondwa flat of Imran and Yunus for several days in order to train them. He gave bomb-making training in 2022 and showed how an IED is made. Agencies are on the lookout for some other people who were part of the training too.
A reward of Rs 5 lakh was put on Imran’s head by the NIA in the case registered in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. Additionally, a case was filed against Imran and his two associates at the Kothrud police station. Later, a case was filed against all accused under UAPA.
The NIA had previously filed a 4000-page chargesheet based on statements of 16 witnesses, detailing the activities of six arrested ISIS terrorists, namely Tabish Siddiqui, Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Sharjeel Shaikh, Aakif Nachan, Zubair Shaikh and Dr Adnanali Sarkar.
The NIA had alleged that all the arrested Jihadis were “technically sound”.
Two of them were employed at senior positions in corporate firms.
Barodawala worked as a senior project manager in a multinational company with an annual package of Rs 31 lakh; Zubair Shaikh worked as a senior associate, technology angular on RPA (Robotic Process Automation) with a tech-based company. Sharjeel worked as a retainer in an IT firm.
One of the terrorists, Tabish Siddiqui, had shared a PDF file of a “do-it-yourself (DIY)” kit titled “efficincy pdf” with an email ID belonging to ISIS.
Tabish shared information on how to achieve the efficient intensity for a particular volume of white powder or any good explosive substance.
The investigators had recovered photographs of the Jewish Community Centre in Mumbai from four accused jihadis, exposing that Jews in India were also a target of the Islamic State.
Subsequently, security at Chabad House in Colaba was increased by the Mumbai Police. Chabad House was one of the targets attacked in the 26/11 terror attack.
The ISIS terrorists intended to execute aerial blasts through drones. For this, they conducted mock bomb blasts in the forests of Pune, Kolhapur, and Satara.
“It is evident from the statement of witness that accused A-2, A-4 and A-6 (Zulfikar Barodawala, Sharjeel Shaikh and Akif Nachan) and others (including Shamil Nachan, who is accused in another NIA case) had several meetings in Chhoti Masjid, Padgha-Borivali, wherein they used to plan recruitment of gullible Muslim youth for the Islamic State (ISIS), furthering the activities of Islamic State propagating the ideology of Daesh i.e. ISIS and to carry out violent jihad on the land of Al-Sham,” the NIA stated.
Dr Adnanali Sarkar, the anaesthesiologist-turned-jihadist
The most shocking arrest in the Maharashtra or the Pune ISIS terror module case was that of Dr Adnanali Sarkar or Dr Adnanali Qamarali Sarkar, a practising anaesthesiologist.
Jihadi Dr Adnanali Sarkar completed his MBBS in 2001 and MD in Anaesthesiology in 2006 from B.J. (Government) Medical College in Pune and later worked at a leading private hospital.
Sarkar had over 16 years of professional experience, including stints at major hospitals in Pune and Mumbai. Sarkar’s colleagues described him as skilled, particularly in difficult airway management and regional anaesthesia.
Adnanali Sarkar co-authored multiple research papers and spoke Hindi, English, Marathi, and German.
Sarkar used to conduct Arabic classes in Kondhwa and also served as a speaker for the Islamic Awareness Society in Pune.
Convicted Jihadi Dr Adnanali Sarkar often delivered Dars or Islamic lectures on stages of Jihad, revival of Khilafat, Hijrah, and the Islamic State.
While Dr Adnanali Sarkar’s arrest came much later, he had been under the scanner since 2015. In December 2015, Sarkar met ISIS ‘operatives’. In 2016, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) questioned Dr Adnanali Sarkar; however, they did not arrest him.
Sarkar was arrested on 27th July 2023 after an NIA team conducted a raid at his Kondhwa residence in Pune, just weeks after the arrest of Tabish Nasser Siddiqui of Mumbai, Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba of Pune, and Sharjeel Shaikh and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala of Thane.
Documents recovered from his flats revealed that Dr Adnanali Sarkar was recruiting vulnerable youths for terrorist activities. It had details of linking poor youth with terrorist organisations.
When charges were framed in June 2026, ISIS Jihadi Dr Adnanali Sarkar pleaded not guilty. However, it was recently reported that Sarkar sought to change his application, informing the court that he was “repenting my wrong deeds” and pleaded guilty.
In response, Special Judge Abhay A. Joglekar accepted Sarkar’s plea, confirming that it was voluntary, unequivocal, and devoid of coercion or inducement.
Now the Special NIA Court in Mumbai has convicted Jihadi Dr Adnanali Sarkar under UAPA Sections 13 (unlawful activities), 18 (conspiracy), 20 (member of a terrorist gang/organisation), 38 (membership of a terrorist organisation), and 39 (support to a terrorist organisation), plus IPC Sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).
While Dr Adananali Sarkar will serve a jail sentence, the trial against the five other accused continues.
