ISIS India Head Saquib Nachan Dies In Hospital After Brain Haemorrhage

Saquib Nachan, head of the so-called Islamic State's (ISIS) India operations and former office-bearer of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), died in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital Saturday afternoon after suffering a brain haemorrhage. He was 57.

Nachan had been in judicial custody at Tihar Jail since 2023 following his arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with an alleged ISIS terror module spanning Delhi and Maharashtra's Padgha region. He was hospitalised on Tuesday after his health deteriorated in custody.

Doctors confirmed a brain haemorrhage shortly after admission. He remained under medical observation for four days before his condition worsened this morning. He was pronounced dead at 12:10 pm, according to hospital officials.

Saquib Abdul Hameed Nachan belonged to Padgha town in Maharashtra's Thane district. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he rose as a senior figure in SIMI, an organisation banned in 2001 for anti-national activities.

Nachan's name came under national spotlight during investigations into a series of bombings across Mumbai in 2002 and 2003, including the blasts at Mumbai Central, Vile Parle, and Mulund station. These attacks left at least 13 people dead and injured over a hundred.

He was eventually convicted in these cases under charges of illegal arms possession, including an AK-56 rifle. A special court operating under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) sentenced him to 10 years in prison. He completed his term in 2017, receiving remission of over five months for good behaviour.

In 2023, he was again arrested, this time by the NIA, as part of a crackdown on ISIS terrorists and supporters across India. He was identified as the main accused in what was labelled the Delhi-Padgha ISIS Terror Module case.