Accused in ISIS case conducted ‘bomb-making workshops’ in Pune’s Kondhwa: NIA

The central probe agency said Aakif was also involved in the promotion of terror activities of the ISIS—a proscribed foreign terrorist organisation—“in collaboration” with four others — Zulfikar Ali Barodawala (41), Mohammed Imran Khan (23), Mohammed Yunus Saki (24) and Qadir Pathan (32), all of whom were recently arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for allegedly conducting bomb training and tests in Pune and other parts of the state.

A release issued by the NIA on Saturday stated that Aakif was arrested “after a series of raids in Borivali and Bhiwandi areas. Several incriminating materials, such as electronic gadgets and documents, were also seized during the raids.”

The NIA said besides assembly of IEDs and purchasing materials and components for the fabrication of IEDs, Aakif had facilitated the stay of Khan and Saki at a house in Pune’s Kondhwa.

“The accused had organised and participated in bomb-making workshops in Kondhwa in 2022 and had also been involved in preparation of a demo IED and conduct of a controlled explosion…,” said the NIA release.

As per NIA’s probe, the accused had hatched a conspiracy to further the terrorist activities of ISIS. “He had planned to commit terrorist acts to disturb the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of the country, and wage a war against the Government of India,” said the NIA.

This is the sixth arrest by the NIA in the ISIS Maharashtra module case, relating to the ISIS conspiracy to disrupt the nation’s peace.
A case was registered by the NIA on June 28 and last month, the agency arrested five accused—Tabish Nasser Siddiqui from Mumbai, Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba from Pune, Sharjeel Shaikh and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala from Thane and Dr. Adnan Ali Sarkar from Kondhwa, Pune.

Recently, a probe by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad revealed Barodawala’s association with Khan, Saki and Pathan. A court in Pune remanded him to ATS custody till August 11 for further investigation.

According to ATS, Barodawala lived in Kondhwa between 2017 and 2022. He allegedly gave funds, training in bomb making and testing to Khan, Saki and Shahnawaz Shafiurrehman Alam (31), who were nabbed by the Pune city police while allegedly trying to steal a vehicle from Kothrud area on July 18. Alam escaped from police custody when they were being taken for a house search.

A press release issued by the ATS on Saturday said a two-wheeler used by the accused for conducting reccee in Pune and other areas has been seized. A four-wheeler, two pistols, five live cartridges belonging to Khan and Saki were recovered on Saturday. The two accused allegedly used a drone for conducting reccee of the jungle where they stayed in a tent for the bomb tests. The ATS has seized both the drone as well as the tent.

According to the NIA, Khan and Saki are allegedly members of the ‘Sufa terrorist gang’ linked to ISIS. They were “most wanted” by the NIA in a case relating to recovery of explosives from a car in Rajasthan in March 2022.

With Aakif’s arrest, investigators have found yet another link between the accused persons in the two terror cases being probed separately by the NIA and the ATS.

ATS custody of four accused in bomb test case extended till August 11

The ATS on Saturday produced the four accused– Khan, Saki, Pathan and an IT engineer S N Kazi (27)–in the Pune bomb test case—before a special court in Pune, seeking extension of their custody.

Police inspector Arun Waykar told the court that the “goal” of the accused persons has been identified. Waykar showed a document to the court alleging the accused carried information about ‘all terrorist attack methods in the world’.

Waykar said “technical knowledge of the accused is very high” and it does not match with their educational qualification. He further said the place where the accused tested bombs has been located.

The police inspector added they have identified the shops where the accused had submitted their Aadhaar cards to allegedly buy chemicals and “sensitive”material, which is not banned, but there are restrictions on its sale. Waykar said the accused used different names to contact different persons. “Scope of the investigation is wide,” he said.

Prosecution lawyer Vijay Fargade sought extension of the ATS custody of the accused for ten days. Although defence lawyers Yashpal Purohit and I S Shaikh argued further custody was not required, special judge V R Kachare extended the ATS custody of the four accused till August 11.