ISIS module: Sixth accused was in touch with int’l handlers, NIA tells special court

The agency told the court that Nachan, Sharjeel and Ali lived in the same vicinity at Padgha, Bhiwandi, in Thane. “The arrested accused were planning to conduct some activities in Mumbai and for that, they were in touch with international organisations which are considered terrorist outfits in India. They have procured some materials from outside the country,” it added

Mumbai: A special court on Sunday remanded terror suspect Aakif Ateeque Nachan in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody till August 14. The NIA arrested Nachan in Bhiwandi on Saturday for his alleged link to the ISIS Maharashtra module.

Denying the prosecution’s claim, the defence lawyer, Tahira Qureshi argued that Sharjeel and Ali revealed Nachan’s name almost three weeks ago then why did the agency take such a long time to arrest Nachan? “If Nachan is involved in a terror organisation, then why would he sit at home for almost three weeks after knowing his aides were arrested.” (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

The federal agency busted the ISIS Maharashtra module in June and Nachan was the sixth accused arrested in the case. Earlier, the NIA had arrested Tabish Nasser Siddiqui in Mumbai, Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba in Pune, Sharjeel Shaikh and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala in Padgha, Thane, and Dr Adnan Sarkar in Kondhwa, Pune.

“Nachan was allegedly in touch with Sharjeel and Ali, who were arrested in Thane, and had been communicating with other wanted accused through a social media application, using VPN (Virtual Private Network) to escape detection,” the NIA told the court.

The agency told the court that Nachan, Sharjeel and Ali lived in the same vicinity at Padgha, Bhiwandi, in Thane. “The arrested accused were planning to conduct some activities in Mumbai and for that, they were in touch with international organisations which are considered terrorist outfits in India. They have procured some materials from outside the country,” it added.

While seeking 14 days of custody, the prosecution submitted before the court that the NIA required time to confront Sarkar, who is in NIA custody, with Nachan as well as question the other arrested accused. “We require time to find out how deeply and strongly the accused are trying to act against the country. We need to find out the foreign handler whom they were in touch with and also check whether the accused had visited other countries. If they did, then where they went, for how many days and whom they met,” the NIA told the court.

The NIA told the court that Nachan was involved in the fabrication and testing of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) for the commission of terror acts and had also arranged a hideout for two other terror suspects.

Denying the prosecution’s claim, the defence lawyer, Tahira Qureshi argued that Sharjeel and Ali revealed Nachan’s name almost three weeks ago then why did the agency take such a long time to arrest Nachan? “If Nachan is involved in a terror organisation, then why would he sit at home for almost three weeks after knowing his aides were arrested.”

The special court, however, rejected the defence’s claim and remanded Nachan till August 14.