Saqib Abdul Hamid Nachan, a former office-bearer of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and a key accused in the ISIS Maharashtra terror module case, has died in a Delhi hospital. He was 63 years old. Nachan, who was arrested in 2023 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), was lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
Nachan was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in Delhi on Monday after suffering a brain stroke. His lawyer, Samsher Ansari, confirmed that Nachan's condition was critical following the stroke. He was later shifted to Safdarjung Hospital after his health deteriorated. According to reports, Nachan had suffered two previous brain strokes in 2021 and shortly before his arrest in 2023. He passed away approximately an hour before official sources confirmed his death.
Nachan's arrest in December 2023 followed investigations into his alleged central role in the ISIS Maharashtra module. The NIA probe revealed that Nachan held the title of Amir-e-Hind within the outfit and played a pivotal role in radicalizing and recruiting vulnerable youth. Several accused in the case had allegedly pledged allegiance to Nachan, recognizing him as their ideological leader. A foreign-based ISIS handler, believed to be coordinating directly with Nachan, allegedly administered the pledge to other operatives as part of a wider terror conspiracy. Officials stated that the accused were conspiring to destabilize India's internal security, disrupt democratic institutions, and spread communal unrest.
His son, Shamil Nachan, was also arrested earlier in the same year for his alleged involvement in the terror plot. Nachan's last rites are expected to be performed in Padgha, a village in the Thane district of Maharashtra.
Initial reports of Nachan's death circulated earlier, but were refuted by his lawyer who stated that they were false and intended to create frenzy. At the time, Ansari confirmed that Nachan had collapsed in his cell in Tihar Jail, leading to a brain hemorrhage and subsequent unconsciousness.
