The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has found a familial connection between Maharashtra ISIS terror module accused Shamil Nachan and Areeb Majeed, who travelled to Iraq to join the Islamic State, was implicated in ISIS-related activities, and later returned to India: Majeed is the brother-in-law of Nachan.
Agency sources confirm that in 2021, Nachan’s wife’s younger sister married Majeed following his release on bail. On December 25 that year, Majeed entered into matrimony with Madiha, sister of Afrar. The siblings are the daughters of Hasib Mulla, a close associate of the former general secretary of SIMI, Nachan.
Nachan’s son is currently in NIA custody.
Mulla was a close associate of Nachan
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Mulla was a close associate of Nachan and was arrested along with him following the 2002-03 serial train blasts, which killed 12 people and injured more than 130.
The Crime Branch recovered an AK-56 rifle and bullets from Mulla. He was later sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Arms Act, and spent over eight years in jail. In 2016, the High Court granted him bail on technical grounds. The court noted that he had already served a substantial portion of his jail term, and his appeals were likely to be heard only after four or five years.
Nachan was released in November 2017.
Assumption that their family is involved with ISIS is incorrect: Lawyer
Tahira Qureshi, the lawyer for Nachan, said while it’s true that Majeed and Nachan are related, the assumption that their family is involved with ISIS is incorrect. Both daughters-in-law of the family are educated, he said.
Qureshi called the terror module case “fabricated” and said it would tarnish the image of the families.
The NIA has so far arrested six people in connection with the case.
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