Saquib Nachan, chief of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) so-called India operations and a former senior leader of the banned outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), died at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday afternoon following a brain haemorrhage.
Nachan, 57, had been lodged in judicial custody at Tihar Jail since 2023, after he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with an alleged ISIS-linked terror module operating across Delhi and the Padgha region of Maharashtra.
His health deteriorated while in custody, leading to his admission to Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday.
Medical teams diagnosed Nachan with a brain haemorrhage soon after his admission.
He remained in critical condition under constant medical supervision for four days.
However, his health worsened significantly on Saturday morning, and doctors declared him dead at 12:10 pm, hospital authorities confirmed.
SIMI Leader
A resident of Padgha town in Maharashtra’s Thane district, Saquib Abdul Hameed Nachan became a prominent figure in SIMI during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The organisation was banned in 2001 for engaging in anti-national and extremist activities.
Nachan came under national scrutiny after a series of bomb blasts rocked Mumbai in 2002 and 2003, targeting locations such as Mumbai Central, Vile Parle, and Mulund railway station.
These attacks killed at least 13 people and left over 100 others injured.
Following investigations, Nachan was convicted on charges of illegal arms possession, which included the recovery of an AK-56 rifle.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a special court operating under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).
Nachan completed his prison term in 2017, securing a remission of over five months for good conduct during his incarceration.
In 2023, Nachan was once again apprehended, this time by the NIA, as part of a nationwide crackdown targeting ISIS operatives and their supporters.
He was named the prime accused in what investigators called the Delhi-Padgha ISIS Terror Module case, linking him to efforts aimed at expanding ISIS activities within India.
(With inputs from IBNS)
