Mumbai: In a major counter-terror breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested two absconding fugitives Abdul Fayaz Sheikh and Talha Liyakat Khan upon their arrival at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The duo had fled India in 2022 to evade arrest in connection with the ISIS-linked Pune terror module, which involved the fabrication, creation, and testing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The arrests were made following actionable intelligence inputs, with the Bureau of Immigration intercepting the suspects upon their arrival from Jakarta, Indonesia. The two were wanted for their roles in organising a clandestine IED training workshop in Pune and promoting ISIS’s extremist ideology. A reward of Rs 3 lakh each had been announced for information leading to their capture. They were produced before the Special NIA Court in Mumbai, which remanded them to NIA custody until May 27.
According to the NIA, Sheikh and Khan were core conspirators operating under instructions from the Ratlam-based ISIS module “Al Sufa,” led by arrested mastermind Imran Khan. The two are accused of organizing a secret IED workshop in Pune in April 2022, attended by several other ISIS operatives who were later arrested.
Investigation revealed that the duo had meticulously planned their escape after the Pune ISIS module was busted in 2022, which resulted in multiple arrests including that of Shamil Nachan, son of convicted terrorist Saquib Nachan, designated as Amir-e-Hind (chief of ISIS in India).
Sources said both accused fled along with their families. Talha Khan’s wife and infant daughter left for Oman on May 2, 2022, followed by Khan himself on August 12. Similarly, Fayaz Sheikh’s wife and two children departed for Oman on June 12, with Sheikh leaving on July 15. This coordinated family departure complicated the investigation and required sustained diplomatic and intelligence cooperation with foreign agencies.
According to the NIA chargesheet, the investigation into the ISIS Pune terror module led to the discovery of a secret workshop used for the fabrication, creation, and testing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This workshop was allegedly set up at a shop owned by accused Abdulla Fayaz Sheikh, widely known as “Diaperwala” for running a diaper store in Pune’s Kondhwa area. The clandestine session reportedly took place in April 2022 and was attended by all members of the ISIS Pune module, including arrested accused Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Abdul Kadir Pathan, Simab Nasiruddin Kazi, Shamil Nachan, Akif Nachan, and Shahnawaz Alam, among others.
Talha Liyakat Khan, also a Pune resident and associate of Fayaz Sheikh, played a major role in organizing the workshop. The accused allegedly planned terror acts aimed at destabilizing India’s internal peace and communal harmony, seeking to establish an ISIS-led Islamic regime. They had pledged allegiance (Bayat) to ISIS’s self-styled Khalifa and actively recruited others to the cause.
Appearing for the accused in the Special NIA Court, defense counsel Tahira Qureshi argued that the case was initially registered at Kothrud Police Station before being transferred to the Maharashtra ATS and subsequently taken over by the NIA. She stated that no direct summons were ever issued to Talha Khan’s residence. The NIA had interrogated Abdullah’s father and brother on five occasions, to which they cooperated fully.
Qureshi further claimed that the accused left India with their families between July and August 2022 to seek employment in Oman. Following their designation as wanted individuals by Indian investigative agencies, the Omani authorities reportedly instructed them to leave the country or face deportation. Subsequently, the duo traveled to Iran, where they were detained by Iranian security agencies on December 8, 2024, and interrogated for five months until May 5, 2025. According to Qureshi, Iranian authorities found no evidence linking them to ISIS and asked them to leave the country.
A few days ago, both of them reached Indonesia, where they were detained at the airport. Afterwards, NIA officials brought them to India. The arrest memo states that they were arrested at Mumbai airport.
The NIA, however, asserts that the duo’s custodial interrogation is crucial to unraveling the full scale of the ISIS module’s operations in Maharashtra and possibly beyond. The agency claims a meeting for IED-making and training was held at Abdullah’s house, with several operatives traveling to Pune with explosive chemicals for the workshop.
The court remanded both accused to NIA custody for 10 days until May 27.
The NIA investigation revealed that accused Shamil Nachan and Akif Nachan traveled to Pune carrying explosive chemicals and processed powder, staying overnight at Sheikh’s residence during the IED manufacturing exercises. The two-day workshop involved the fabrication, creation, and testing of IEDs by all module members.
The accused were active in propagating ISIS’s violent ideology and engaged in preparatory terrorist activities, including recruitment and pledging allegiance to ISIS’s leader.
The NIA has chargesheeted all 10 accused under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act, and Indian Penal Code, continuing rigorous investigations to thwart ISIS’s violent and anti-national designs in India.
