Two ISIS Sleeper Cell Suspects Nabbed at Mumbai Airport by NIA

At Mumbai International Airport, two fugitives connected to an ISIS (Islamic State) sleeper cell have been taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). They were evading capture for more than two years. The pair was trying to get back to India from Jakarta, Indonesia, when NIA arrested them. Talha Khan and Abdullah Faiyaz Shaikh (also known as "Diaperwala") were detained when the Bureau of Immigration apprehended them at the airport's Terminal 2. After becoming involved in a case in 2023 involving the production and testing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Pune, both had been on the run. In order to secure 15 days of custody, the NIA presented the two to a special court. Following hearing arguments from both parties, the judge gave the NIA 10 days’ custody until May 27.

Advocate Tahira Qureshi defended the accused, claiming that the case was first filed at the Kothrud Police Station, then moved to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), and eventually turned over to the NIA. Qureshi told the court that Abdullah's brother and father had already been questioned five times by the NIA and had provided complete cooperation. She further asserted that the NIA never sent Talha Khan a summons to his home.

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On July 15, 2022, Abdullah, with his wife and kids, travelled to Oman, said Qureshi, and Talha went to Oman later that year in order to find a job. The two were asked to leave Omani territory after the NIA proclaimed them wanted, she said, so they went to Iran, where they were arrested on December 8, 2024, and questioned about their suspected ties to ISIS until May 5, 2025. Qureshi said the Iranian authorities subsequently released them after failing to find any evidence of their guilt. They travelled to Indonesia after that, where they were detained at the airport. According to their arrest memos, NIA personnel brought them back to India and formally detained them at Mumbai International Airport.

The finding, which the NIA has been looking into since 2023, represents a major advancement in the ongoing probe into the ISIS Pune sleeper cell case. The group allegedly planned to carry out terrorist acts intended to disrupt India's peace and communal harmony in support of ISIS's goal of establishing Islamic rule through violence. The module was allegedly involved in assembling IEDs and holding bomb-making workshops in Pune's Kondhwa area. In Maharashtra, the NIA is presently investigating two distinct ISIS module cases, in which several individuals have been taken into custody and charge sheets have been submitted.