E-Paper
Coimbatore blast: NIA arrests 3 people for being part of conspiracy meeting
Besides the three latest arrests, the Tamil Nadu police had arrested six others, who were then taken into custody by the NIA for interrogation
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested three people for their involvement in conspiracy meetings and providing incriminating material for the October 23 blast in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore, the agency said on Wednesday.
The three suspects have been identified as Mohammed Thoufeek (25) – a resident of Coimbatore, Umar Faaruq alias K Srinivasan (39) – a resident of Nilgiris district, and Ferose Khan (28) – also from Coimbatore.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Jamesha Mubeen, after taking bayah (oath of allegiance) to the global terror outfit Islamic State (ISIS), planned to carry out a suicide attack and cause extensive damage to symbols and monuments of a particular religious faith and with the intention to strike terror among the people, the NIA said in a statement.
“Investigations have revealed that accused persons Umar Faaruq and Ferose Khan were part of the conspiracy meetings attended by Jamesha Mubeen in Umar’s residence at Coonor, Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu and also provided support to Jamesha Mubeen in the commission of the terror acts. Mohammed Thoufeek was in possession of incriminating literature/books connected to radical Islam and also had handwritten notes on preparation of explosives,” the statement added.
Besides the three latest arrests, the Tamil Nadu police had arrested six others, who were then taken into custody by the NIA for interrogation. Earlier, on November 10, the federal agency conducted raids at 44 locations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Also Read:TN cops say no evidence to link Mangaluru with Coimbatore blast
The bomber was also killed when the car he was travelling in exploded in front of the Kottai Eswaran temple in Coimbatore.
Further, local cops found 75 kgs of potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulphur and aluminum powder, which was used to make explosives, from the residence of Mubeen in Ukkadam.
The agencies also suspect a larger conspiracy in the incident as Mubeen and other accused persons in the case may have been in touch with Mohammad Azharuddin, who is currently lodged in jail for allegedly having links with ISIS and in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.
In 2018-19, the NIA had probed a module of ISIS in Coimbatore, headed by Azharuddin, and found that he, along with another associate Sheikh Hidayatullah, was in touch with April 21, 2019 Sri Lanka bombings mastermind Maulvi Zahran bin Hashim and were planning to carry out similar strikes in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as first reported by HT.
Hashim and another Sri Lanka bomber – Mohammad Azaan – had even travelled to India in 2017 and 2018 to discuss the plans of ISIS. Indian agencies, based on the NIA probe into the Coimbatore module, had sent three alerts to Sri Lanka security agencies about a plan to carry out a major strike there.
After the Sri Lanka attacks, in which over 250 people were killed, the NIA had registered a suo motu case on May 30 that year against six persons from Coimbatore.
