STF to seek terror suspect Ishaan Bukhari’s remand, NIA likely to join probe

Bhubaneswar:The Odisha Crime Branch’s Special Task Force (STF) is likely to submit a court application today, seeking approval for a seven-day remand of Ishaan Bukhari, a Kashmiri fraudster and suspected terrorist, currently locked up at Ragadi jail in Jajpur. Reliable sources disclosed this information on Monday.

The National Investigating Agency (NIA), Punjab Police, and Kashmir Police are as well expected to collaborate in the Odisha investigation to determine Bukhari’s potential terrorist affiliations. Reports suggest that Bukhari had connections with Pakistani ISI agents, raising suspicions that sensitive data from Indian security installations may have been leaked to ISI through him.

The STF’s special team apprehended Bukhari during a raid in the Neulpur area of Jajpur district on Saturday, linking him to alleged anti-national elements. Senior STF officials revealed that Kashmir Police has a pending non-bailable warrant against him in connection to a cheating and forgery case.

During the raid, more than 100 documents were seized. Bukhari was found in possession of four mobile phones, with two of them active. The operational phones are undergoing Call Detail Records (CDR) analysis, while the other two are being examined at the State Forensic Science Lab (SFSL) for data recovery.

 Surprisingly, Bukhari was discovered impersonating various roles, including a Neurologist, an Army Doctor, an officer in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), and a close associate of high-ranking NIA officials.

The accused is also wanted by Kashmir Police for a separate case, and he has married at least 6-7 women from different parts of India, including Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha. Active on various websites and apps, Bukhari engaged in romantic relationships with numerous women while posing as a doctor with international degrees.