New Delhi: Saquib Nachan, former senior member of banned group SIMI and alleged head of ISIS operations in India, died at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday afternoon. He was 57 years old and had been in judicial custody at Tihar Jail.
Nachan was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday after his health worsened. Doctors said he had suffered a brain haemorrhage. He remained under close observation for four days, but his condition kept deteriorating. He was declared dead at 12.10 pm, said hospital officials.
Nachan was from Padgha, a town in Maharashtra’s Thane district. He was once a top leader in the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), which was banned in 2001 due to its anti-national activities. His name made headlines during investigations into a series of bomb blasts in Mumbai between 2002 and 2003, according to NDTV reports. These attacks, in places like Vile Parle, Mulund station, and Mumbai Central, killed 13 people and injured over 100.
In those cases, Nachan was found guilty of illegally possessing weapons, including an AK-56 rifle. A special court under the now-repealed POTA law sentenced him to 10 years in jail. He completed his term in 2017, with some time reduced for good conduct.
In 2023, Nachan was arrested again by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a case related to an alleged ISIS terror module operating in Delhi and Padgha. He was said to be the mastermind behind the group and had been held at Tihar Jail since then.
Hospital and police officials have confirmed his death, and his body is expected to be handed over to his family after necessary procedures.