Mumbai: In a major development in the ongoing probe into the Pune ISIS module, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), in coordination with Pune police, carried out extensive search operations across the city on Thursday.

The raids targeted the residences and offices of 19 suspected individuals in Kondhwa, Khadak, Khadki, Wanwadi, and Bhosari, officials said. ATS teams from Mumbai and Pune conducted simultaneous searches to uncover digital evidence, documents, and communication devices linked to the module’s network. Several suspects were taken into custody for questioning, though authorities did not confirm any fresh arrests or seizures. Investigations are ongoing.

According to ATS, the operations were linked to C.R. No. 7/2023, investigating individuals previously arrested for alleged involvement in a sleeper ISIS module operating in Maharashtra. Sources said the raids targeted the residences and offices of the suspects, who are believed to have close links with ISIS operative Talha Liyakat Ali Khan (37). Khan was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after a two-year international manhunt. He was intercepted at Mumbai airport in May this year while attempting to return to India from Indonesia.

On June 4, 2025, the Maharashtra ATS arrested Khan from Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where he was held in NIA custody, in connection with the April 8, 2023, Satara saree showroom robbery. Khan is alleged to have raised funds and facilitated the purchase of firearms used in the heist, in which Rs 1 lakh was looted and the perpetrators escaped on a motorcycle. He is the fourth individual to be arrested in the case. Officials said the stolen proceeds were reportedly channelled to finance ISIS-linked terror activities.

Sources said that during custody, Khan made several significant disclosures aiding the investigation. Following his statements, the ATS conducted search operations on Thursday. The individuals whose premises were searched are under ATS scrutiny and are believed to be close associates of Khan. Some suspects were reportedly in contact with him during the two years he was absconding and are believed to have been involved, directly or indirectly, in radicalisation and providing logistical support to the ISIS-linked terror module.

Investigations by NIA and ATS revealed that Khan, along with co-accused Fayaz Shaikh, played a key role in raising funds for the Pune ISIS terror module and in organising a secret IED workshop in Pune’s Kondhwa area in April 2022.During this workshop, members of the ISIS module allegedly fabricated and tested improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The session was reportedly attended by several accused, including Zulfikar Barodawala, Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Abdul Kadir Pathan, Simab Kazi, Shamil Nachan, Akif Nachan, and Shahnawaz Alam, among others.The suspects were reportedly involved in radicalisation, recruitment and fabrication of explosive devices as part of a larger terror conspiracy.

The plot, which could have posed a serious threat to national security, came to light in 2023 when Pune police detained two suspects from Kothrud in a bike theft case after searches of their residence and subsequent investigation revealed their alleged links to ISIS operatives, leading to the case being transferred to the Maharashtra ATS and later to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Officials said Khan and Fayaz Sheikh went underground after the Pune ISIS module was dismantled in 2022. Between July and August that year, the duo left India with their families, reportedly seeking employment in Oman. After being declared wanted by Indian agencies, Omani authorities ordered them to leave the country or face deportation. The pair then traveled to Iran, where they were detained on December 8, 2024, and interrogated for five months until May 5, 2025. In the following days, they reached Indonesia but were initially denied entry. While attempting to return to India secretly from Jakarta in May 2025, they were intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai International Airport (T2) and subsequently taken into NIA custody.

The ATS has said that the investigation into Khan’s network is ongoing, Further questioning and analysis of the seized digital evidence are expected to provide more leads in the case.

New Delhi, Oct 9: The Supreme Court has expressed shock at the status of criminal trials in Maharashtra, having found that hundreds of cases have been pending for framing of charges for over a decade — some dating back as far as 2006.

“Registrar General of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay has filed an affidavit annexing certain documents which we have perused. To say the least, it is a reflection of a very shocking state of affairs, insofar as the conduct of trials before different Courts in the State of Maharashtra is concerned,” observed a Bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, taking note of the affidavit filed by the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court.

The Justice Kant Bench said that despite the filing of charge sheets, trials in at least 649 cases across Maharashtra have not proceeded beyond the stage of framing charges.

“The said affidavit reveals that there are at least 649 cases in which charges are yet to be framed, despite filing of the charge sheets, in certain cases, way back in the year 2006, 2013, 2014 and onwards till the year 2020. The reasons assigned for delay are multiple, including, and most significantly, in almost every trial, either non-production of the accused or non-appearance of the advocate, be it the prosecutor or the defence,” it observed.

Noting that the petitioner has been languishing in jail for over four years without charges being framed, though the charge sheet in his case was filed in July 2021, the apex court said: “The petitioner has been in jail for more than 4 years since 11.04.2021, and today his status remains the same as it was on day one of his incarceration. Charges would have to be framed, the process of trial would take its own time, and by the time a final conclusion is reached, he would have remained behind bars for many years on end.”

The Supreme Court has directed the Registrar General of the High Court to obtain detailed reports from each District and Sessions Judge regarding the steps taken to ensure the timely framing of charges and compliance with earlier circulars on the production of undertrial prisoners either physically or virtually, as per the stage of trial.

The matter will now be heard next on October 17, with the Supreme Court seeking a comprehensive compliance affidavit. “The Registrar General shall also apprise the learned Chief Justice of the High Court of the passing of this order,” it said.

Mumbai: A major human trafficking racket was exposed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport due to the alertness of immigration officials. The accused, Vijay Kumar Radheshyam Grover (43), was caught attempting to take 28-year-old Kamaljit Kaur to the Netherlands’ Amsterdam by posing as her husband.

Officials found discrepancies during questioning, leading to the discovery of fake documents. The case is currently under investigation by the Property Cell of the Mumbai Crime Branch, and a team has been dispatched to Punjab for further probe. Grover has been remanded in police custody till October 15.

According to police sources, Accused VijayKumar, who works as a travel agent in Delhi, has traveled abroad 13 times to nine different countries including Thailand, China, Dubai, and London.

He is suspected to have facilitated passports and visas for around 30 to 35 individuals. On October 7, he arrived at the Mumbai international airport with Kamaljit Kaur, claiming she was his wife and that they were flying to Amsterdam.

However, immigration officers noticed inconsistencies in their responses during routine questioning. Further scrutiny revealed that the marriage certificate dated December 2023 they presented was fake. Kaur was immediately rescued, while Grover was detained for questioning. Investigations revealed that Kaur’s cousin, Sonu — a Belgium citizen — had introduced her to Grover.

A case has been registered at the Sahar Police Station under sections 143(2), 336(2), 336(3), 340(2), and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, for human trafficking, cheating, and forgery.

The accused allegedly forged marriage documents to fraudulently obtain a European visa for himself and Kamaljit Kaur and attempted to take her illegally to Amsterdam on flight 6M-21 from Mumbai.

The investigation is being led by Senior Police Inspector Mangesh Desai and PSI Sachin Jadhav of the Property Cell, Crime Branch. Police are now tracing agent Gagandeep Singh Bhinder and others suspected to be part of this trafficking network. Authorities are also probing whether this is part of a larger cross-border trafficking racket operating from Punjab and Delhi.