Former SIMI operatives revive IS modules across India, intel warns
Synopsis
Indian intelligence has flagged a new and harder-to-crack threat: former SIMI operatives, many with ties to the Indian Mujahideen and PFI, are self-declaring as Islamic State 'emirs' and building isolated, unconnected cells across India. The deliberate absence of inter-module communication is what makes this wave uniquely difficult to dismantle.
Key Takeaways
Indian intelligence agencies have identified former SIMI members resurfacing to establish independent Islamic State modules across multiple states.
Modules have been detected in Uttar Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh , and Maharashtra , with the threat described as pan-India.
Mohammad Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan of Padgha, Thane allegedly self-declared as an IS emir and recruited more than 30 youths from five states.
The modules operate independently with no inter-linkages, making them significantly harder for agencies to track and dismantle.
Many operatives previously belonged to SIMI , the Indian Mujahideen , or the Popular Front of India (PFI) , banned in September 2022 .
Rabiya , wife of deceased IS recruiter Shafi Armar , allegedly continues fundraising and recruitment targeting Indian youth.
Indian intelligence agencies have uncovered a significant operational shift in the country's internal security landscape, with former members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) reportedly resurfacing across multiple states to establish independent Islamic State (IS) modules. The development, flagged by security officials, points to a decentralised but dangerous pattern of radicalisation that is proving difficult to monitor and dismantle.
A Familiar Playbook, A New Threat
The trajectory follows a pattern that Indian security agencies have tracked before. After SIMI was banned in 2001, the organisation lay dormant briefly before reconstituting itself as the Indian Mujahideen, which carried out a series of attacks before being dismantled by security forces. Today, according to officials, many former SIMI members have voluntarily aligned themselves with the Islamic State, adopting its ideology and operational methods.
The shift began, according to intelligence sources, with Shafi Armar, a former Indian Mujahideen operative who travelled to Syria and began actively recruiting for IS in India. Following Armar's death, his wife Rabiya allegedly assumed operational responsibility, focusing on fundraising and recruitment — particularly targeting Indian youth.
How the Modules Operate
An Intelligence Bureau official said the modules are deliberately structured to avoid inter-linkages. 'They run their operations individually and do not mix operations with other former members. This has created a major problem for the Indian agencies as none of these modules are structured and inter-linked. This makes it hard to track such persons as there is no proper organisational structure,' the official said.
Modules linked to former SIMI operatives have been identified in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, among other states. Each operates independently, with the broader stated goal of establishing an Islamic Caliphate — pursued region by region, with the eventual aim of coordinating on a pan-India scale, according to officials.
The Padgha Case: A Blueprint for Self-Styled Emirs
The case of Padgha, a rural town in Maharashtra's Thane district, illustrates how this model functions on the ground. Mohammad Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan, a former SIMI member with ties to radical organisations including Jamaat-e-Islami dating back to the 1980s, reportedly kept a deliberate low profile after SIMI's ban before resurfacing nearly two decades later. He allegedly declared himself an 'emir' of the Islamic State and recruited more than 30 youths from states including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
'This has become a dangerous trend whereby a person just crops up, declares himself as an emir, and then starts recruiting and propagating on behalf of the Islamic State,' an official said.
Wider Network: SIMI, Indian Mujahideen, PFI Links
Intelligence officials noted that many individuals now operating in these modules were previously associated with not just SIMI and the Indian Mujahideen, but also the Popular Front of India (PFI), which the Centre banned in September 2022. The convergence of former members from multiple banned organisations into IS-aligned cells is being described as a pan-India challenge.
'Such individuals deliberately keep a low profile and avoid coming under the radar of security agencies. However, they continue to operate quietly in the background, carrying out recruitments and propagating the ideology of the Islamic State. It is an operation that runs largely on autopilot and poses a threat to national stability,' an official said.
What Security Agencies Are Watching
The absence of a centralised command structure — while operationally convenient for the modules — makes traditional surveillance and infiltration strategies harder to deploy. Officials say the challenge is less about dismantling a hierarchy and more about identifying isolated actors before they activate. With no formal lines of communication between modules, a breakthrough in one state yields limited intelligence about operations in another. Agencies are expected to intensify monitoring of former SIMI and PFI members who have remained off the radar in recent years.
Point of View
Cell-based movement that exploits the very gaps that dismantling SIMI and PFI created. Each time India bans a group, it disperses the membership without necessarily neutralising the ideology. The self-styled 'emir' model — one person, one module, no upward reporting — is designed to survive targeted takedowns. The Padgha case is a warning that the next threat may not announce itself through a recognisable network but through a single radicalised individual with a smartphone and a decade of patience.
NationPress
4 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the former SIMI operatives now linked to Islamic State modules in India?
They are former members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), many of whom also have ties to the Indian Mujahideen and the Popular Front of India (PFI). According to intelligence officials, these individuals kept a low profile for years after their organisations were banned before resurfacing to establish independent IS-aligned cells.
What is the 'self-styled emir' model described by intelligence officials?
It refers to a pattern where a former operative independently declares himself an 'emir' — a local commander — of the Islamic State, then begins recruiting and propagating IS ideology without formal sanction from a central hierarchy. The Padgha case in Maharashtra's Thane district, involving Mohammad Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan, is cited as a key example.
Which states have IS modules linked to former SIMI members been found in?
Intelligence agencies have identified such modules in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, among other states. Recruitment networks reportedly span Karnataka, Delhi, and several other states as well.
Why are these decentralised IS modules harder for agencies to track?
Because the modules deliberately avoid any inter-linkage or communication with each other, there is no organisational structure for agencies to map or infiltrate. A breakthrough against one module yields little intelligence about others, making traditional counter-terrorism surveillance strategies less effective.
What is the role of Rabiya, wife of Shafi Armar, in IS operations in India?
Following the death of Shafi Armar — a former Indian Mujahideen operative who had joined IS and recruited for it in India — his wife Rabiya allegedly took over operational responsibilities. She is reportedly active in fundraising and recruitment, with a focus on targeting Indian youth, according to intelligence sources.
