SIMI to ISIS: Why this little village near Mumbai keeps getting raided by intelligence agencies

A look at why this village repeatedly draws such massive scrutiny, its political and social landscape, and the long shadow cast by one of its most prominent residents, the late Saquib Nachan.

The history of the settlement

Borivali-Padgha’s documented history dates back to the Shilahara Dynasty (7th-10th century), when the region formed part of the northern Konkan administrative belt. Arab traders arriving at Bhiwandi port in the 12th century established a settlement in neighbouring Borivali, which later merged, socially and economically, with Padgha.

The community that emerged from this mix—largely Muslim and economically self-sufficient—built sturdy homes, many of which still stand. Prominent families such as the Mullas, Nachans and Khots grew influential as landowners and timber traders. The area is home to 5,780 residents, of whom 83 per cent are Muslims, as per the 2011 Census.

Borivali-Padgha’s residents have a record of political participation. During the freedom movement, Muslim women from the village led a Swadeshi protest, burning British goods in Borivali’s square, an event attended by Sarojini Naidu.

This political consciousness saw the village transform into a base for a range of ideological currents, ranging from leftist activism to Islamist student mobilisation. Before its ban in 2001, the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had a visible presence in the area, something that later became a reference point in intelligence assessments.

The 2002-03 blasts cases

Borivali-Padgha first drew significant security attention during the investigations into the 2002-03 Mumbai serial blasts, when five residents were named accused. The police alleged that Nachan, a former SIMI general secretary and the best-known figure from Padgha in security records, was the key conspirator.

Evidence cited by agencies included alleged procurement of weapons, facilitation of training, and involvement in planning blasts in Ghatkopar, Vile Parle, Mumbai Central and Mulund. Some of the accused were convicted under arms charges, while others were acquitted of terror offences.

The episode cemented Borivali-Padgha’s association with extremist activity in the public imagination, a label residents have struggled to challenge.

The Saquib Nachan factor

The late Saquib Nachan is a central name in extremist circles. He was born into a prominent Konkani Muslim family in Borivali-Padgha. The third of 12 children of community leader Abdul Hamid Nachan, he grew up on extensive family landholdings and graduated in Commerce before beginning his ideological journey with Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.

In the early 1980s, he joined its student wing, SIMI, rising rapidly to become its Maharashtra president and later national general secretary.

By the mid-1980s, intelligence agencies alleged Nachan had “gone rogue,” travelling to Pakistan and Afghanistan and cultivating links with militant groups. A 1992 CBI chargesheet accused him of facilitating explosives and guerrilla training for Indian Muslim and Sikh youths and aiding ISI-backed Operation K2, which sought joint Islamist–Khalistani operations.

Arrested the same year under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, Nachan was sentenced to life, later reduced to 10 years by the Supreme Court. After completing the term, he returned to Padgha in 2001.

Though acquitted in three murder cases soon after, Nachan again came under the scanner following the 2002-03 Mumbai serial blasts that killed 15 people. His attempted arrest in March 2003 led to a confrontation between Borivali-Padgha residents and the police. Days later, a police encounter linked three alleged terrorists to him through a recovered diary. Under pressure, Nachan surrendered and was arrested with 15 others.

Released in 2017, Nachan returned to a quiet life in Borivali-Padgha until his name resurfaced in 2023 during an NIA probe, for links with ISIS. He was in judicial custody in Tihar Jail after being arrested for alleged links with ISIS, and died in a Delhi hospital earlier this year.

Why raids have intensified in last 2 years

Nachan was arrested by the NIA in December 2023 for his alleged role in promoting terrorist activities linked to ISIS. According to the NIA, Nachan, along with his son Shamil Saquib Nachan and five other accused, was part of an ISIS-affiliated sleeper cell operating out of Kondhwa, Pune. The agency alleged the group was involved in the fabrication, training, and testing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and had conducted bomb-making workshops.

Investigators further claimed the group had conspired to transform Borivali-Padgha into a “liberated zone” and had plans to carry out attacks aimed at disturbing communal harmony and waging war against the Indian state, in alignment with ISIS’s agenda.

Agencies believe that the ideological and organisational networks built during SIMI’s presence have not fully dissipated. With multiple residents named in separate cases over two decades, from the early SIMI years to the Mumbai blasts to the recent ISIS probe, the area remains a priority surveillance zone with constant police presence and pickets.

A local described it as “a constant sense that another search may take place at any time”.