Mumbai: In a significant breakthrough in the ongoing crackdown against ISIS-linked terror activities in India, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) successfully extradited two prime accused in the ISIS Pune module case, Abdul Fayaz Sheikh and Talha Liyakat Khan, from Oman. The duo, who had been on the run since 2022, were brought to Mumbai early Saturday morning by an NIA team and have been taken into custody.
Both accused were declared fugitives by the agency, which had earlier announced a reward of ₹3 lakh each for information leading to their capture. Their extradition marks a crucial development in the investigation, following months of coordinated legal and diplomatic efforts between Indian and Omani authorities.
Investigations revealed that Sheikh and Khan played a central role in the operations of a radical ISIS module in Pune, which was exposed in 2022. Following the crackdown, the duo orchestrated a well-planned escape from India along with their families, complicating efforts to apprehend them.
According to officials, Talha Khan’s wife and infant daughter fled to Oman on May 2, 2022, with Khan joining them on August 12. Fayaz Sheikh’s family also left in June, followed by Sheikh himself on July 15. Their calculated exit drew attention from intelligence agencies and necessitated sustained international cooperation to ensure their return.
The NIA chargesheet has highlighted the duo’s deep-rooted involvement in spreading extremist ideology, recruiting for ISIS, and planning acts of terror, including the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Both Sheikh and Khan had pledged allegiance, or Bayat, to the self-declared leader of the Islamic State.
A clandestine IED-making workshop was reportedly organized at Sheikh’s diaper shop in Pune’s Kondhwa area in April 2022. The site served as a hub for training and planning, with participation from multiple accused including Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Mohammed Imran Khan, Yunus Saki, Simab Kazi, and Abdul Kadir Pathan.
The workshop was orchestrated under the instructions of the Ratlam-based ISIS unit “Al Sufa,” with arrested accused Imran Khan acting as a key facilitator. Shamil Nachan, son of convicted terrorist Saquib Nachan and alleged ISIS India chief (Amir-e-Hind), also played a key role, along with Akif Nachan, in transporting explosive chemicals to Pune. Both reportedly stayed at Sheikh’s residence during the operation.
NIA sources say that Sheikh and Khan’s extradition is expected to provide vital intelligence on the extent of ISIS activities in Maharashtra and across India. Their interrogation is likely to unearth operational details, recruitment strategies, and the extent of radicalization carried out by the module.
“Their return is a major step in neutralizing the local ISIS infrastructure,” an official stated, adding that their involvement spanned from ideological indoctrination to the execution phase of the terror conspiracy.
The case forms part of a broader probe into ISIS-linked modules in India, with multiple arrests already made and large quantities of digital evidence, explosive materials, and radical literature seized during raids.
The duo will be produced before a special NIA court in Mumbai, where further legal proceedings are expected to commence shortly.
