2 ISIS members, part of a sleeping cell, arrested at Mumbai airport

Officials reported on Saturday that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended two important fugitives believed to be connected to a sleeper cell of the terrorist group ISIS at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The arrests represent a significant advancement in the agency’s continuous attempts to disrupt ISIS’s activities in India. The individuals, named Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh, referred to as Diaperwala, and Talha Khan, were apprehended late Friday night by the Bureau of Immigration at Terminal 2 while trying to return to India from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they had been evading authorities.

An official announcement from the NIA indicated that the pair were sought for their involvement in a 2023 case related to the creation and testing of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Pune, Maharashtra. The matter involves a larger criminal plot concerning a sleeper cell of ISIS members, intending to execute terrorist activities throughout India.

The NIA inquiry has uncovered that Shaikh and Khan were directly engaged in constructing IEDs at a leased property in Pune’s Kondhwa locality. In the period of 2022-2023, they allegedly arranged a workshop for bomb-making at the same site, where a controlled detonation occurred to evaluate an IED they had created.

Both individuals have already been charged, along with eight other accused ISIS members, who are presently in judicial custody. The group purportedly sought to undermine India’s internal stability and communal unity, ultimately aspiring to establish Islamic governance in India by violent methods in line with ISIS’s radical ideology.

The other individuals detained in the case are Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Abdul Kadir Pathan, Simab Nasiruddin Kazi, Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Shamil Nachan, Akif Nachan, and Shahnawaz Alam. The NIA has charged all ten suspects under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act, and the Indian Penal Code.

Authorities highlighted that the arrests highlight India’s strict stance against terrorism and reaffirm the NIA’s dedication to stopping ISIS and other extremist groups from establishing a presence in the nation. The two defendants are anticipated to appear before the NIA Special Court for additional legal action.