- विज्ञापन -
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended two individuals wanted for their involvement in a sleeper cell of the banned ISIS terror organization, related to a 2023 case concerning the fabrication and testing of IEDs in Pune, Maharashtra. The agency announced this on Saturday.
The suspects, identified as Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh alias Diaperwala and Talha Khan, were detained by the Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai International Airport’s T2 terminal while attempting to return to India from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they had been hiding.
The NIA took them into custody and subsequently arrested them. The two had been on the run for over two years, with non-bailable warrants issued against them by the NIA Special Court in Mumbai.
In addition, the NIA had announced a Rs 3 lakh reward for information leading to their arrest. The case (RC-05/2023/NIA/MUM) involves a conspiracy by these men and eight other members of the ISIS Pune sleeper cell, who are already in custody.
The agency stated that they had planned to carry out terrorist activities to disturb India’s peace and communal harmony, aiming to establish Islamic rule in the country through violence, in line with ISIS’s ideology.
The two suspects, who have been charged along with the other arrested individuals, were involved in assembling IEDs in a house rented by Shaikh in Kondhwa, Pune. During 2022-2023, they allegedly organized and participated in bomb-making and training workshops, and conducted a controlled explosion to test an IED they had fabricated.
The NIA, which is actively investigating ISIS activities in India to prevent terror plots, has previously filed charges against all 10 accused under various sections of the UA (P) Act, Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act, and IPC.
In addition to Shaikh and Khan, the other linked suspects include Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Abdul Kadir Pathan, Simab Nasiruddin Kazi, Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Shamil Nachan, Akif Nachan, and Shahnawaz Alam.
