On 9th December, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced that it raided 44 locations in Maharashtra and Karnataka in which they arrested 15 ISIS terrorists of the ISIS Maharashtra module.
The arrested accused had self-declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as a ‘liberated zone‘ and as ‘Al-Sham’. Seemingly areas in Syria are referred to with such notations. They were motivating impressionable Muslim youth to relocate to Padgha from their place of residence to strengthen the Padgha base, NIA revealed in its official press release.
The security agency shared a press release that revealed shocking details about the terror module. According to the press release, the arrested accused include the leader and head of the ISIS module 63-year-old Saquib Nachan. As per NIA, he was administering ‘Bayath’ – an oath of allegiance to Khalifa of ISIS to the recruits. He is a radical Islamist with a history of involvement in multiple terror cases.
NIA Swoops Down on 44 Locations in M’Rashtra & K’Nataka, Arrests 15 ISIS Operatives of ISIS Maharashtra Module pic.twitter.com/bcvJBOIA3M
— NIA India (@NIA_India) December 9, 2023
NIA investigations have further revealed that the accused, all members of the ISIS Maharashtra module, were operating from Padgha-Borivali. From there, they had hatched the conspiracy to spread terror and carry out acts of violence across India, the agency noted.
The NIA also pointed out that the accused were also aiming to wage a war against the Indian government. The press release reads, “Pursuing the path of violent Jihad, Khilafat, ISIS, etc., the accused had aimed to disturb the peace and communal harmony of the country and to wage a war against the Government of India.”
Muslims backing ISIS is not new in Maharashtra
While this crackdown by NIA came in the last month of 2023, the silent backing of Muslims in Maharashtra for this terror outfit is an old phenomenon. In 2015, Muslims in Maharashtra rioted in various cities of the state under the guise of protesting an article about ISIS published by the Marathi daily newspaper Lokmat.
On 29th November 2015, the Sunday supplement named ‘Manthan’ of the Marathi daily newspaper ‘Lokmat’ published an article named ‘ISIScha Paisa’ which translates to ‘The ISIS Money’. It was focused on the money trails of the terror outfit ISIS. The article detailed various monetary sources of ISIS. It said that ISIS had money reserves worth $300 Crores. The article said that oil smuggling, loans, and loot contribute to its major sources.
Besides, this article also featured a cartoon along with the text. This cartoon was a piggy bank picture. On that piggy bank, Muhammad Rasul Allah was written in the Arabic script. It means – ‘Muhammad is the messenger of Allah’. This line is also a part of Islamic Kalma. Pig is considered prohibited in Islam. Muslims in Maharashtra rioted under the guise of protests saying that writing the Islamic Kalma on a pig cartoon was an insult to the Prophet Muhammad.
#Boycottlokmat , we need justice @MiLOKMAT @shermkhan2020 @Tehseenchowd @rubusmubu @cr7_harun @a_tembhre pic.twitter.com/D9Sa3usMR9
— Sayed Dilawar دلاور سید (@Sayyed_Dilawar) November 29, 2015
Notably, almost every Muslim in India distances itself from ISIS when in public discourse. ISIS has written the whole Islamic Kalma on its flag but no Muslim mob comes to the streets saying that the violence of ISIS in the name of Islam is an insult to their religion. However, a cartoon in the Marathi daily newspaper provoked them so much that they damaged the properties of the newspaper offices in multiple cities forcing the media group to furnish an apology.
In its apology, Lokmat said, “Lokmat sincerely apologises for the distress caused to the entire Muslim community due to the use of Arabic words in the graphic design accompanying the article ‘ISIS’s Money’, published on the front page of the Lokmat’s Sunday supplement Manthan on 29th November. This mistake occurred due to an oversight and was never intended to hurt the religious sentiments of anyone. Lokmat has always believed in and upheld the principle of equality and respect for all religions. Prompt action has been taken against those responsible for this oversight.”
Riots in Maharashtra over the article in Lokmat
Offices of the Marathi newspaper Lokmat witnessed angry protests by Muslim mobs who claimed that the newspaper had insulted their faith by publishing a blasphemous picture. Copies of the newspaper were burnt in various cities in Maharashtra and the protesting men demanded the arrest of the editor and the artist who drew the illustration. A few offices of the newspaper were also attacked.
These protests took place in Malegaon, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Yavatmal, and other places including Akola. To keep the situation in control, the police registered cases against the editor and the writer of the article at Aurangabad, Jalna, Pune, Jalgaon, Parbhani and Yavatmal.
Piggy bank has been historically used as a popular depiction to show banking and financial activities and it has hardly anything to do with the actual pig or its ways, however, such artistic explanations fell on deaf ears as hundreds of protestors turned up at various offices to burn copies of the newspaper, sending the staff into panic mode.
Muslims led by Ghulam Mustafa Rizvi, Dr. Raees Rizvi, Yusuf Ilyas, and Mufti Naeem Raza Misbahi, staged a massive protest in Malegaon. They blocked the main road near the New Bus Stand for approximately thirty minutes, demanding prompt action against the newspaper for its offensive content.
The demonstration gained further momentum when they were joined by local MLA Asif Shaikh. Together, they proceeded to the Malegaon City Police Station, where they filed a complaint against the editor of Lokmat, as well as the artist and graphic designer who made the cartoon.
Uproar over Lokmat cartoon: Muslim groups vandalise offices. ISIS cartoon sparks protests. pic.twitter.com/shWhLsqpki
— NewsX (@NewsX) November 30, 2015
The violent protesters pelted stones at the offices of the newspaper in many cities in the state. Jalgaon office of Lokmat experienced a significant stone pelting attack. Later, all the offices of the publication in the state were provided police protection. Political parties also joined in these protests with Dhule unit chief of Samajwadi Party Minority Cell taking the lead and asking Lokmat’s resident editor Milind Kulkarni to publish an apology in the newspaper’s earliest issue. Another organization called the All India Momin Conference called for protests against the newspaper after Friday prayers in Jalna on 4th December 2015. The offended groups decided to withdraw their FIRs and the scheduled protests after the media group apologised.
