NIA Captures ISIS Sleeper Cell Members in Key Pune IED Case

In a significant development, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended two individuals, identified as part of a sleeper module of the outlawed ISIS terror organisation, linked to a 2023 case involving the fabrication and testing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Pune, Maharashtra.

The suspects, Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh, also known as Diaperwala, and Talha Khan, were detained at Mumbai International Airport T2 by the Bureau of Immigration upon their return from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they had been in hiding. The NIA subsequently took them into custody.

On the run for more than two years, the duo had previously been declared proclaimed offenders by the NIA Special Court in Mumbai, which had issued non-bailable warrants for their arrest, with a cash reward of Rs 3 lakh each announced for information leading to their capture. The case, identified as RC-05/2023/NIA/MUM, unveils their involvement in a broader conspiracy with eight other ISIS sleeper cell members, aimed at unsettling India's peace by waging a war against the government to further ISIS's violent agenda.

(With inputs from agencies.)