ISIS India's Saquib Nachan dies in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital days after suffering from brain haemorrhage
Saqib Nachan's body will be handed over to his family after the post-mortem, with his last rites scheduled for Sunday in Borivali village near Padgha
Saquib Nachan, an accused in the Pune ISIS module case, and a former office-bearer of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), died at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday, June 28, days after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
Aged 67-years, Nachan was admitted to a private hospital in Delhi, for the last four days. His condition worsened on Saturday, and he died at 12.10 pm, the official said, an official told PTI.
The ex-SIMI office-bearer, who was lodged in the Tihar prison, was taken to the hospital on Tuesday, June 24, after his health deteriorated. Doctors later confirmed that he had suffered a brain haemorrhage, the official added.
Who was Saqib Nachan?
In 2016, Saqib Nachan was convicted for his role in the 2002-02 Mumbai blasts. After completing 10 years of imprisonment, he was out.
In 2023, Nachan was arrested by the NIA along with several others for allegedly engaging in terrorist activities, including the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to advance the agenda of the banned terror group ISIS.
According to the NIA, Nachan was the main accused and had declared himself the leader of the group. He allegedly took it upon himself to administer the 'Bayath'—an oath of allegiance—to ISIS's self-proclaimed 'Khalifa' for new recruits. Investigating agencies further claimed that he had declared the village a "liberated zone" and used it as a hub for the group’s suspected anti-national operations.
Raids conducted in Nachan's village
In the first week of June, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) conducted a massive search operation at 22 places in Borivali, Padgha and detained several suspects — including Nachan's relatives — who were later allowed to go after questioning, an official told PTI.
“Two separate cases were registered in connection with these searches, which were based on specific inputs that Nachan and his associates had brainwashed and instigated people from the village to participate in anti-national activities,” the official said.
An ATS statement at that time noted that the searches were carried out in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir to nab anti national elements who could provide logistic support for terror related activities.
Security beefed up in Nachan's village ahead of final rites
Following Saqib Nachan's death, the security have stepped up security in Padgha and neighbouring Bhiwandi, considering that Nachan’s final rites would be held there, an official said.
“We are keeping a tab on the situation,” a police official told PTI.