NIA Arrests Two Absconders Linked to ISIS Pune Sleeper Module at Mumbai Airport

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday has arrested two suspected ISIS operatives, accused in connection with the 2023 ISIS sleeper module case in Pune, Maharashtra. The duo had been absconding for long, was finally intercepted at Mumbai International Airport (T2) while returning to India from Jakarta, Indonesia.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh alias Diaperwala and Talha Khan. The Bureau of Immigration flagged their arrival, after which the NIA team took them into custody. Both had been evading arrest for over two years and were declared absconders by the NIA Special Court in Mumbai, which had also issued non-bailable warrants against them. A reward of ₹3 lakh each had been announced for information leading to their arrest.

According to the NIA, the arrests are linked to case, which pertains to a larger conspiracy involving a 10-member ISIS sleeper cell operating from Pune. The group allegedly conspired to wage war against the Government of India and disrupt national peace and communal harmony in line with the banned organisation’s violent ideology.

Shaikh and Khan had reportedly been involved in assembling improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from a rented property in Pune’s Kondhwa area. During 2022–2023, the duo participated in a bomb-making and training workshop and even conducted a controlled explosion to test an IED they had fabricated.

The NIA has already filed a chargesheet in the case under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act, and Indian Penal Code (IPC). The eight other accused arrested earlier and currently in judicial custody include: Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Abdul Kadir Pathan, Simab Nasiruddin Kazi, Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Shamil Nachan, Akif Nachan, and Shahnawaz Alam.

The agency stated that investigations in the case are ongoing.​