Death Of ISIS ‘Ameer-e-Hind’ Saquib Nachan: All Criminal Proceedings Against Alleged ISIS India Chief To Be Abated As Per Judicial Protocol

Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan (63), an alleged operative of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and a former office-bearer of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), died in Delhi on Saturday following a brain stroke. He was a key accused in the high-profile Delhi-Padgha ISIS terror module case.

Officials said Nachan had been admitted to a private hospital in the national capital four days ago after his condition deteriorated in custody. He was undergoing treatment for a stroke and succumbed in the early hours of Saturday.

Nachan was under judicial custody at Delhi’s Tihar Jail at the time of his medical emergency. Tihar Jail Authority admitted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital on Monday, he was later shifted to multispeciality Safdarjung Hospital for advanced care due to the severity of his condition. Sources in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) confirmed that Nachan remained under strict observation in the ICU before his death was officially declared by the doctors.

His lawyer, Shamsher Ansari, confirmed that legal formalities had caused delays in releasing the body to the family. 'Even until late Saturday evening, his son Aquib had not been informed about when he would receive his father’s body,' Ansari said, adding that the family had yet to finalise the funeral arrangements for his last rites."

Nachan was identified by central agencies as the alleged “Ameer-e-Hind”, the head of ISIS operations in India. With his death, all pending criminal proceedings against him are expected to be legally abated, formally bringing an end to the charges he was facing.

As per legal procedure, when an accused person dies during the course of investigation or trial, the criminal proceedings against them are abated, as criminal liability does not survive the individual. In such cases, family members or legal representatives are required to submit a formal application before the competent court, requesting closure of proceedings on account of the death. Once the court verifies the demise, it officially records the abatement of all pending matters.

A similar application is expected to be submitted by Nachan’s family in the coming days.

Following the news of Nachan's death, messages began circulating on social media platforms and WhatsApp groups in Padgha, Bhiwandi, and nearby areas, urging people to attend the janazah (funeral prayer) and tadfeen (burial) in large numbers.

A senior Thane police official said security in Padgha had already been heightened since Nachan’s hospitalisation and was further intensified on Saturday in anticipation of public gatherings.

“More than 100 police personnel, including Thane Rural Police units, have been deployed in and around Padgha and surrounding areas. Security vans are stationed at key points, vehicles are being checked, and unfamiliar individuals are being questioned,” the official said.

A senior security agency officer added that the funeral will be kept under strict surveillance, particularly since parts of Padgha were previously symbolically referred to as “Al-Sham” by radicalised local youth, a term used by ISIS to describe parts of Syria and the Levant, which they claimed as the heartland of their so-called caliphate."We ensured there was no mobilisation or misuse of the funeral gathering,” the officer added.

Maharashtra ATS, local police, and central intelligence agencies remain on alert to monitor any further developments.

Nachan had long been on the radar of Indian security agencies. A former member of SIMI and a known associate of Indian Mujahideen operatives, he was convicted for his involvement in three deadly bomb blasts that occurred in 2002 and 2003 at Mumbai Central, Vile Parle, and Mulund stations, which resulted in the deaths of over a dozen people.

He was sentenced to 10 years under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) for illegal possession of arms. Convicted in March 2016, Nachan’s case was one of the early instances involving educated individuals in acts of terrorism. He was released in 2017 and returned to his hometown Padgha, remaining under surveillance for alleged extremist links.

In 2023, Nachan was arrested by the NIA along with 15 others in the Delhi-Padgha ISIS module case, which investigators described as part of a larger conspiracy to radicalise and mobilise youth for acts of terror in India.

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