ISIS Maharashtra module case: NIA gets custody of 6th terror suspect

The NIA apprehended Aakif Nachan from his residence in Bhiwandi on Saturday. Representation pic/PTI

The special court on Sunday remanded the sixth terror suspect arrested in ISIS Maharashtra module case in NIA custody for eight days.

The NIA apprehended Aakif Nachan on Saturday from his residence in Bhiwandi for his alleged involvement in fabrication and testing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The NIA told the court that Zulfikar Bordewala, who had been arrested previously in the case, had revealed Nachan's name. The duo was in constant touch with each other, they said.

"The NIA raided his house and seized his phone. The accused used VPN for interacting, passing information to the co-accused and those on the NIA's radar. He has been trained by an active terrorist organisation just like the other co-accused," the prosecutor told the court, adding that they need to investigate the VPN angle and also if he went out of India for any terror outfit.

He also needs to be questioned along with the others arrested so far, they said. Nachan's lawyer Tahira Querishi said that he was produced before the court 33 hours after his apprehension. "Moreover, what did the NIA do for 20 days after Bordewala revealed his name?" she asked.

He argued that to investigate the role of VPN, the agency did not need the custody of Nachan, as they already had his phone.

"My client (Nachan), Bordewala and another accused Sharjeel Shaikh reside in the same village. Apart from that, my client denies any connection with the co-accused," Querishi said.

He demanded judicial custody for him, but the court sent him to the NIA's remand. According to the agency, Nachan had facilitated the stay for Imran and Yunus at a house in Kondhwa, Pune. The accused organised and participated in bomb-making workshops in Kondhwa in 2022 and had also conducted a controlled IED explosion at this location, they claimed.