Saquib Nachan, ex-SIMI general secretary and terror convict, dies in custody

Indian Express

8 hours ago

Saquib Nachan, the former general secretary of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and a convict in multiple terror-related cases, passed away on Saturday afternoon while in judicial custody. He was 62.
Nachan had been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in December 2023 from Padgha in Maharashtra's Thane district. He was accused of promoting the activities of designated foreign terrorist organisations, including ISIS. He had previously served prison terms after being convicted in multiple terror cases.
Following his arrest, Nachan was lodged in Tihar Jail in Delhi, where he remained in custody. On June 22, he suffered a brain haemorrhage and was admitted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for treatment. His condition reportedly worsened, and he was transferred to Safdarjang Hospital for further medical care. He succumbed to his condition on Saturday, his lawyer confirmed.
Nachan's family is seeking to bring his remains back to Padgha for burial.
Saquib Nachan was born into a well-established and respected Konkani Muslim family in Borivali Padgha, a village located about 53 km north of Mumbai. The third son of Abdul Hamid Nachan, a prominent community leader, Saquib grew up amid relative privilege on the family's expansive landholdings, alongside 11 siblings.
A commerce graduate, Nachan began his ideological journey with the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, before aligning in the early 1980s with its student wing, SIMI, an organisation that would later be banned for its alleged extremist links.
Nachan rose swiftly through SIMI's ranks. He served as the Maharashtra state president, and later as the national general secretary of the group. He played a central role in mobilising support and was instrumental in organising one of SIMI's largest public rallies in Mumbai, which reportedly drew over 10,000 participants.
By the mid-1980s, intelligence agencies claimed Saquib Nachan had turned rogue, allegedly travelling to Pakistan and Afghanistan to establish ties with militant leaders. A 1992 CBI chargesheet accused him of facilitating explosives and guerrilla warfare training for Indian Muslim and Sikh youth, and of aiding ISI-backed Operation K2, which sought to build joint Islamist-Khalistani infrastructure in India.
In 1992, Nachan was arrested in Ahmedabad under the TADA Act alongside Khalistani militant Lal Singh. Initially sentenced to life, his term was later reduced to 10 years by the Supreme Court, which he completed.
Though he maintained his innocence, admitting only to legal trips to Pakistan, Nachan remained under watch after his release in 2001. He was acquitted in three murder cases but again became a prime suspect after a series of bombings in Mumbai in 2002 and 2003 that killed 15 people.
In March 2003, his attempted arrest in Padgha led to a standoff between locals and police. Days later, a police encounter allegedly tied three terrorists to Nachan via a recovered diary. Under mounting pressure, Nachan surrendered and was arrested along with 15 others.
The police claimed he confessed to organising the blasts, stockpiling weapons, and training youths to wage war against the Indian state. AK-47s, AK-56s, and bomb-making materials were allegedly seized from his network.
While he was eventually discharged in the blast case, Nachan was convicted under the now-repealed Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and served another 10-year sentence for unlawful weapons possession. He was released in 2017 and returned to live quietly in Borivali Padgha until he made headlines again in 2023.
Saquib Nachan was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (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 Padgha into a so-called '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.
Saquib Nachan's death marks the end of an era for a significant faction of India's radical Islamist underground. He was one of the last remaining active leaders from the banned SIMI, whose senior leadership, such as former national president C A M. Basheer, has either been jailed or fled abroad.
While many SIMI figures faded from prominence, Nachan remained influential, especially in Maharashtra, where he reportedly served as a rallying figure for former cadres. His presence in judicial custody was considered significant enough for authorities to move him to Tihar Jail due to his influence in local networks.
Known for representing himself in court, Nachan secured an acquittal on terror charges in the high-profile 2002-03 Mumbai blast cases.
Despite his frequent run-ins with the law, Nachan continued to remain controversial even when he was not in prison. He had announced his decision to offer burial for the 26/11 Mumbai attackers on his private land, which had stirred public outrage. He had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court, where he presented his own case against the Indian government's decision to ban ISIS.