NIA arrests two fugitives linked to sleeper cell of ISIS at Mumbai Airport

The arrested duo are wanted in an IED fabrication and testing case. Representational pic/iStock

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two fugitives linked to a sleeper cell of the ISIS (Islamic State) at Mumbai International Airport. The duo had been evading capture for over two years and were attempting to return to India from Jakarta, Indonesia.

The arrested individuals, identified as Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh (alias "Diaperwala") and Talha Khan, were intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration at Terminal 2 of the airport. Both had been on the run since their involvement in a 2023 case concerning the fabrication and testing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Pune.

The NIA produced the two before a special court, seeking 15 days' custody. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted 10-day custody to the NIA, until May 27.

Defending the accused, advocate Tahira Qureshi argued that the case was initially registered at the Kothrud Police Station and subsequently transferred to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), before finally being handed over to the NIA.

Qureshi informed the court that the NIA had already questioned Abdullah's father and brother five times, and they had cooperated fully. She further claimed that Talha Khan never received any summons at his residence from the NIA.

Qureshi stated that Abdullah had moved to Oman with his wife and children on July 15, 2022, and that Talha also went to Oman later that year for employment. According to her, once the two were declared wanted by the NIA, Omani authorities asked them to leave the country, so they travelled to Iran, where they were detained on December 8, 2024, and interrogated until May 5, 2025 regarding their alleged links to ISIS. Qureshi claimed that the Iranian authorities found no incriminating evidence and eventually released them.

They then went to Indonesia, where they were arrested at the airport. NIA officials brought them back to India, where they were formally arrested at Mumbai International Airport, as noted in their arrest memos.

According to the NIA, the development marks a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into the ISIS Pune sleeper module, which the NIA has been probing since 2023. The module was allegedly engaged in assembling IEDs and conducting bomb-making workshops in Pune's Kondhwa area, and the group had allegedly planned to execute terrorist acts aimed at disturbing India's peace and communal harmony, in furtherance of ISIS's agenda to establish Islamic rule through violence.

The NIA is currently probing two separate ISIS module cases in Maharashtra, in which multiple suspects have been arrested and charge sheets filed.