Counterterrorism forces in India’s western state of Maharashtra have successfully dismantled a terrorist cell linked to the Islamic State. On Thursday, security services apprehended the fifth member of the so-called “Maharashtra ISIS module,” a sleeper cell that was plotting terrorist attacks on Indian soil. Reports from various media outlets have confirmed that the terror group comprised individuals with diverse professional backgrounds, including an IT engineer and a physician.

The Islamic State, which emerged in 2013 in the territories of Syria and Iraq, gained global prominence during President Barack Obama’s tenure. However, under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the ISIS caliphate in Syria and Iraq was effectively dismantled by the combined efforts of the U.S. military and its allies. President Trump also authorized the airstrike that resulted in the death of ISIS “caliph,” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Despite the territorial losses, the notion of an Islamic caliphate still resonates among Muslims worldwide, including in India. The terrorist group had garnered a significant following among Indian Muslims, particularly in areas with a Muslim majority. In places like Kashmir, ISIS flags were frequently displayed during protest rallies and Islamic celebrations.

According to Hindustan Times, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) made the fifth arrest in connection with the Maharashtra ISIS module case, charging the individual with promoting the violent activities of the banned terrorist group. Dr. Adnan Ali Sarkar, a prominent anesthesiologist, was taken into custody by the NIA after a raid at his residence in Pune’s Kondhwa area. The NIA’s statement revealed that this arrest was related to a case registered on June 28, and earlier, four others were apprehended on July 3, identified as Tabish Nasser Siddiqui from Mumbai, Zubair Noor Mohammed Shaikh alias Abu Nusaiba from Pune, and Sharjeel Shaikh and Zulfikar Ali Barodawala from Thane.

During the raid at Sarkar’s residence, the NIA found several incriminating materials, including electronic gadgets and documents related to ISIS, solidifying the evidence against the accused. The investigation revealed that the arrested individuals had conspired to further ISIS terrorist activities under various names, such as Islamic State (IS), Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Daish, Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), ISIS Wilayat Khorasan, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham Khorasan (ISIS-K).

In a separate incident, security forces in the Kashmir region arrested a recruiter associated with Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeM), both Pakistan-backed Islamic terrorist groups engaged in jihad against India. Two recently recruited mujahideen were also apprehended alongside the recruiter, along with a cache of weapons. Hizbul Mujahideen, an offshoot of Jamaat-e-Islami, was established in the late 1980s with the aim of carrying out a Taliban-style jihad in India’s Muslim-majority Kashmir region. Over the past three decades, thousands of Indian civilians, security personnel, and soldiers have fallen victim to this Pakistan-sponsored jihad.

These recent arrests are part of the Indian government’s intensified counterterrorism efforts, especially in response to deadly terror attacks targeting Kashmir’s Hindu population. Since the early 1990s, terrorists in the Kashmir region have orchestrated coordinated massacres of native Hindus and Sikhs, forcing them to flee their ancestral homes.