Who is Shahnawaz, NIA’s most-wanted and suspected ISIS terrorist?

A suspected ISIS terrorist, Shahnawaz alias Shafi Uzzama, has been arrested by the Delhi police in a major crackdown to combat terrorism and maintain security in the country. He was listed as one of the most wanted individuals by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Shahnawaz, who had a reward of ₹3 lakhs on his head, was sought after in relation to the Pune ISIS case. Currently, he is being interrogated by the cops. Further investigations will also conducted to gather additional information regarding Shahnawaz's involvement in the terrorist activities.

Who is Shahnawaz, a suspected ISIS on NIA radar? 

1) Professionally, Shahnawaz is a mining engineer. It is believed that he had been living in the National Capital Region after fleeing Pune. 

2) Shahnawaz, along with two accomplices named Mohammad Imran Mohammad Yunus Khan and Mohammad Yunus Mohammad Yakub Saki, faced arrest by the Kothrud police in Pune on July 18 after attempting to steal a two-wheeler.

3) During the investigation, it was revealed that Shahnawaz had stored acid in the vicinity of Bopatghat near Kondhwa. To secure the acid and various chemicals employed in the creation of explosives, the NIA enlisted the help of the Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad.

4) On July 22, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) assumed control of the investigation. As part of their probe, the ATS detained more individuals, including an IT engineer named Qadir Dastagir Pathan and SN Kazi in Kondhwa. The agency applied sections of the strict Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Khan, Saki, and the other individuals implicated in the case.

5) The ATS seized various other materials and discovered 500 gigabytes of data on the laptops and mobile phones of the suspects. This data included connections to instructional videos on bomb-making available on YouTube, as well as Google images of different locations.

6) It was discovered that Shahnawaz may have been placed in touch with Imran and Yunus by a handler from overseas in February with orders to carry out a terror attack, HT reported. After 15 days, Shahnawaz allegedly brought a man from Delhi by the name of Rizwan to the module.