Shahnawaz (ISIS Terrorist) Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shahnawaz

• Shahnawaz is an Indian mining engineer and one of the most notorious terrorists in India, who is affiliated with the Islamic terrorist organisation, the ISIS. He was involved in the ISIS Pune Module case. In 2023, he was placed on the most-wanted list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), carrying a bounty of Rs. 3 lakh on himself. He was arrested in October 2023 in New Delhi.

• After completing schooling in Jharkhand, he went to Kota, Gujarat, where he underwent coaching for the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE), now known as JEE (Joint Entrance Examination).

• In November 2016, after completing his formal education, Shahnawaz relocated to Abul Fazal Enclave in Jamia Nagar, Okhla, New Delhi, where he started preparing for the SSC examinations. While preparing for SSC, he began attending Hizb ut-Tahrir lectures at Shaheen Bagh. A Delhi Police cop, in an interview, said,
  

  He is an intelligent man, with a technological bend of mind.”

• According to sources, he got radicalised via Telegram by anti-social elements while staying in Delhi.

• He later left Hizb ut-Tahrir to join the ISIS. Reportedly, he started watching propaganda videos uploaded by ISIS and ISIL, which led to him getting more radicalised by their ideologies. In an interview, a Delhi Police official said,
  

  He used to go to listen to Hizb ut-Tahrir lectures at Shaheen Bagh. This was the time when Shahnawaz decided to leave HuT as he was influenced by the ideology of ISIS. He then started following the concepts of ISIS, various Twitter accounts and news channels that professed ISIS ideology.”

• Reportedly, it was during his time in New Delhi that he came in contact with Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI through social media. As per the reports of the Delhi Police, he used to talk to his handlers in Pakistan through an online chat application. However, he used to contact his family members and close friends through voice calls.

• After spending some time in Delhi, he moved to Pune, Maharashtra, where he actively began recruiting youth for ISIS. In Maharashtra, he established many training camps in the dense forests and began training the new joiners in making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and handling firearms. He also used to test homemade explosive devices in the forests near the training camps.

• On 18 July 2023, Pune Police arrested him and two accomplices, Yunus Khan and Yakub Saki, in Kothrud for attempting to steal a motorbike. However, he successfully fled police custody by jumping out of a moving police van while en route to his Kothrud residence. At first, the cops believed the case to be a failed bike robbery case. However, when the cops interrogated Yunus and Yakub, they disclosed their affiliation with ISIS. They further revealed that they were put in Shahnawaz’s contact by an overseas ISI handler in February 2023, and Shahnawaz had stored concentrated acid, used for making bombs, in his apartment near Kothrud. Shahnawaz’s role in expanding ISIS presence in Pune resulted in the case being named the Pune ISIS Module case.

• After escaping from the custody, he came back to Delhi, where he hid from the law enforcement agencies.

• On 22 July 2023, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra Police took charge of the case and arrested many people in Maharashtra, who were working for ISIS.

• During the investigation, the security agencies secured several explosive devices seized from his apartment in Pune with the help of the Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad. The agencies also recovered pen drives with more than 500 GB of data on how to make bombs. ^[5]Hindustan Times

• In September 2023, the NIA released details and photos of Shahnawaz along with a cash reward of Rs. 3 lakh on his head. The agency also conducted raids in various locations within Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir to capture him. During these raids, they discovered and seized different types of chemicals, used in the production of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
  

  The most-wanted list published by the NIA

• In October 2023, the police arrested Shahnawaz along with two other ISIS terrorists, Mohammad Arshad Warsi and Mohammad Rizwan Ashraf. While Shahnawaz was arrested in Jaitpur, New Delhi, Rizwan and Arshad were captured in Lucknow and Moradabad, respectively.
  

  The National Investigation Agency (NIA) members escorting Shahnawaz and two other accomplices

• After the arrest, it was revealed that Shahnawaz had planned to bomb crowded places in India, especially in New Delhi. He regularly communicated with his ISI handlers, updating them on the progress of the bombing plan. The interrogation also disclosed that he intended to establish a base of operations in the Western Ghats and conducted regular reconnaissance of potential targets to shortlist locations for maximum damage. The police confiscated a range of items from Shahnawaz, including a handgun, a few rounds of ammunition, basic plastic tubes, iron pipes, chemicals, timing devices, and other materials with potential for use in the creation of explosive devices. The Delhi Police, in its official statement, said,
  

  The main accused, Shahnawaz, was arrested with his two other partners this morning. Another accused, identified as Mohammad Rizwan, is absconding. They conducted a recce at various places in western and southern India. Right from procuring materials, containers and pipes for explosives were with them. They were supported and promoted by ISIS elements. They have a pan-India footprint.”

• It was also revealed that his handler’s name is Farhathullah Ghori, who is the mastermind of the attack on the Akshardham temple in Gujarat in 2002. The police also recovered instructions sent by Ghori on how to make a bomb and a list, which contained the names of influential BJP and RSS leaders as well as names of the places for detonating bombs, including the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. ^[6]Mangalore Today He learnt the basics of making a bomb while studying mining engineering in Maharashtra.
  

  A sketch of Farhathullah Ghori, Shahnawaz’s handler

• Here’s an interesting video about Shahnawaz’s biography: