Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan, the head of the ISIS India operations and a former office-bearer of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), died on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at the age of 67. He passed away at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital after suffering a brain haemorrhage. Nachan had been in judicial custody at Tihar Jail since December 2023, following his arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with an alleged ISIS terror module spanning Delhi and Maharashtra’s Padgha region. He was hospitalized on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, after his health deteriorated in custody. Doctors confirmed the brain haemorrhage shortly after admission. His condition worsened, and he was pronounced dead at 12:10 pm. His body will be released to his family after a post-mortem, with his last rites scheduled for Sunday in Borivali village near Padgha.
Nachan, a resident of Padgha in Maharashtra's Thane district, rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a senior figure in SIMI, an organization banned in 2001 for anti-national activities. His name gained national attention during investigations into a series of bombings across Mumbai in 2002 and 2003, including blasts at Mumbai Central, Vile Parle, and Mulund station. In 2017, Nachan completed a 10-year sentence for charges including murder and possession of illegal arms and explosives.
Even after his release, Nachan remained under scrutiny. Authorities accused him of attempting to establish a parallel Islamic rule by declaring a village in Maharashtra's Thane district as “Al Sham,” echoing the rhetoric of jihadist statehood. Reports also linked Nachan to ISIS, alleging he played a role in radicalizing youth and administering oaths of allegiance to new recruits. Intelligence agencies suspected that he had traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan and maintained ties with ISIS leaders operating from those regions.
The NIA arrested Nachan in 2023, alleging his active involvement in promoting terrorist activities of ISIS. His death is considered a significant moment in the government's crackdown on the remnants of the SIMI network.
