'Links with ISIS': Former SIMI operative Saquib Nachan dies

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Former member of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan, died during brain stroke treatment, Tihar Jail authorities said on Saturday.

Nachan’s death has also been confirmed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

According to reports, Nachan (65), notorious for his links with the Islamic State (ISIS) and his role in several terror attacks, suffered a brain stroke while in custody following his December 2023 arrest and was admitted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital before being shifted to Safdarjung.

He first came under the scanner back in 1991 and was later arrested for plotting terror strikes in Gujarat linked to Khalistani networks.

In the late 1990s, the Supreme Court convicted him of terrorist activities. He again captured the national headlines and was convicted for orchestrating three bomb blasts in Mumbai between December 2002 and March 2003- in Mumbai Central, Vile Parle, and Mulund.

The terror attacks resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries.

Found guilty of several acts, including murder, arms and explosives possession, he received a 10-year sentence until 2017.

He was also accused of declaring a village in Maharashtra’s Thane district as ‘Al Sham’, referring to it as an independent Islamic-ruled territory.

Several reports claimed his links with ISIS and for brainwashing the youth and personally administering the oath to recruits.

Notably, several reports also claim that he travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan and has close links with ISIS top leaders based in those countries.

The body is likely to be handed over to his family members after all the procedures are completed.

His death is being seen as a final nail in the coffin of SIMI networks within the country, which are facing flak from the concerned agencies and are on their last leg.

--IANS

sas/dan