On Saturday, August 5, a Pune court sent five accused of running an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) module in Pune to Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) custody till August 11. In a statement in the court, ATS said they found incriminating material from the accused, including an Indian map with several cities marked, laptops containing material to study the modus operandi of terror attacks and more.
As per the exclusive report by News18, ATS arrested the accused ISIS members after the investigation. The initial probe revealed they have links to the Al Sufa module. However, a later investigation revealed they all were part of ISIS.
During the hearing, ATS submitted an Indian map with several cities marked on it as evidence against the accused. Notably, the names of the cities were not revealed in the open court hearing. ATS informed the court that the terror operatives, identified as Mohammad Imran Khan and Mohammad Yunus Saki, were trained to make bombs by Zulfikar Ali and others among the five arrested by the Pune ATS in the case linked to the ISIS module.
Notably, National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested several terrorists in connection to the case on 3rd July. Four operatives arrested by the agency were identified as Tabish Nasser Siddiqui from Mumbai, Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba from Pune, and Sharjeel Shaikh and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala from Thane.
Later, on 18th July, Pune ATS arrested Khan and Saki for their association with the terrorist organisation Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) offshoot SUFA. They were arrested from Kondhwa and were wanted by NIA in the terror module case.
Furthermore, ATS also arrested Simab Nasaruddin Qazi for helping another accused, Shahanawaaz Alam, who is currently absconding. ATS took Zulfikar into its custody from NIA from Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.
In the most recent development in the case, NIA arrested Aakif Ateeque Nachan, who is allegedly involved in the fabrication and testing of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). He is also accused of arranging hideouts for two terror operatives.
NIA MAKES ITS 6TH ARREST IN ISIS M’RASHTRA MODULE CASE, ACCUSED AAKIF NACHAN INVOLVED IN FABRICATION OF IEDs pic.twitter.com/6ZycBPENoT
— NIA India (@NIA_India) August 6, 2023
The ATS has seized a 2-wheeler used by Alam. The investigating agency also seized a 4-wheeler and five live cartridges belonging to two other accused.
Khan and Saki came to Pune during Ramzan in 2022
As per News18 report, Zulfikar and other accused allegedly taught Khan and Saki how to make bombs using explosive powder, acid and timer mechanisms. In 2022, Khan and Saki arrived in Maharashtra during Ramzan. They have been living in Pune on rent since then. ATS recovered electronic gadgets and white powder in a raid at their residence. The dog squad was immediately deployed for further investigation. The white powder was sent to the forensic lab for detailed analysis.
ATS seized chemical powder, charcoal, a thermometer, a dropper, a multimeter, small bulbs, a soldering gun, batteries, a spanner and an alarm clock from their residence. As per the official statement, the spanner was used to steal motorcycles.
Accused used Aadhaar cards to purchase drones and explosives
ATS told the court in a statement that the accused used Aadhaar cards to buy drones, acids and explosives. Further investigation is required to determine from where they purchased these products.
Accused studied previous terror attacks
While analysing the seized laptops, ATS found that they had downloaded and studied literature linked to terror attacks by different terrorist organisations. They studied the modus operandi of those attacks, including how they were planned and how the terrorists would escape after such attacks.
