On June 2, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) raided multiple hideouts in Padgha village, Thane district — a place that has alarmingly transformed into a fortified terror hub under the grip of ISIS commander Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan. Once a quiet Maharashtrian settlement, Padgha, located just 50 km from Mumbai, has been shockingly rechristened as ‘Al-Sham’ by Nachan and his radicalised cohort — drawing eerie parallels with ISIS-controlled zones in Syria.
This new wave of ATS action, spurred by crucial intelligence inputs, follows the 2023 NIA raid that uncovered 44 high-grade drones, suspected to be part of a larger terror infrastructure aimed at launching coordinated drone strikes on Mumbai. These chilling discoveries are not isolated — they form part of a dark network orchestrated by Nachan, a man long entrenched in India’s jihadist underworld and formerly the General Secretary of the banned terror outfit SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India).
#WATCH | Maharashtra ATS is conducting raids in Padgha, Thane, in connection with a terrorism-related case. One of the locations includes the residence of Saqib Nachan, a former member of the banned outfit Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), who was earlier convicted in 2… https://t.co/F6H75vV2LI pic.twitter.com/EKMQPHQymr
— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2025
Master of Jihad: Who is Saquib Nachan
A commerce graduate turned jihadist, 63-year-old Saquib Nachan hails from Borivali, Mumbai. Behind the veneer of an average family man — father to two sons and a daughter — lies a notorious history of bloodshed, radical indoctrination, and meticulously planned bombings. His legacy includes:
- Three coordinated bomb blasts in Mumbai (2002–03) at Mumbai Central, Vile Parle, and Mulund, killing 13 and injuring over 100.
- Convicted by the Supreme Court and sentenced to 10 years in 2016 for his role in the blasts, though released early in 2017.
- Arrested again in 2012 for the attempted assassination of VHP activist Manoj Raicha.
- Affiliated with ISIS, Jamaat-e-Islami, and earlier with Pakistan’s ISI under the infamous Operation K2, which aimed to revive Khalistani militancy by sending Sikh youths to Pakistan for arms training.
Nachan is accused of administering Bayʿah (oath of allegiance) to ISIS recruits, training youths in bomb-making, and even guiding psychological warfare operations against the Indian state.
Alarming Transformation: Padgha becomes ‘Al-Sham’
Under Nachan’s leadership, Padgha became a breeding ground for jihadist ideology and operations. Intelligence agencies describe the village as being operated like an autonomous jihadi enclave, governed by Sharia law and declared as ‘Al-Sham’ — mimicking ISIS’s Islamic State project in Syria. Key operations included:
- Recruitment and radicalisation of Muslim youths from Maharashtra and other states.
- Establishment of weapons factories and bomb-testing labs.
- Hosting secret training camps in guerrilla warfare, drone operation, and IED construction.
- Collaborating with other radicals such as Zulfiqar Ali Barodawala, Mohammad Imran Khan, Simab Qazi, and Abdul Qadir Pathan, all part of the core ISIS module in Bharat.
In 2023, the NIA’s counter-terror swoop unearthed 44 drones, primed for attacks, along with a cache of automatic weapons, explosive devices, and extremist literature. Intelligence sources revealed that Nachan’s network procured Israeli flags — a tactic meant to deceive or potentially provoke communal and international tensions.
Saquib Nachan’s terror plot runs deeper than domestic subversion. Investigators have traced his connections to:
- Pakistani handlers and ISI operatives from the early 1990s.
- Jihadi warlords in Afghanistan, with whom he allegedly fought against Soviet forces.
- Multiple visits to Pakistan in 1990 to meet terror mentors Salahuddin Sudani and Abdur-Rahim-Rasool Sayyef, discussing pan-Islamist agendas for Bharat.
- Attempting to bridge Islamist and Khalistani extremism by sending Sikh youths to Pakistan for terror training.
Nachan’s propaganda and recruitment channels extended online and through local mosques, creating a cult-like allegiance among his foot soldiers who were committed to building a parallel state under the black banner of ISIS.
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