The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday conducted raids in multiple locations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in connection with the Coimbatore blast, in which one person was charred to death after an LPG cylinder inside a vehicle he was driving exploded near a temple on October 23.
The NIA took over the probe on October 27 following a recommendation by Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, amid concerns that the incident may have ramifications beyond the boundaries of the state and international connections.
Six people have been arrested so far.
According to people familiar with the matter, the probe agency raided a total of 44 locations in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It conducted searches in eight districts in Tamil Nadu, mainly Chennai, Coimbatore, Thiruvallur, Tiruppur, Nilgiris, Chengalpattu, Kanchipuram and Nagapattinam, and in Palakkad district in Kerala.
Jameesha Mubin, who was questioned by the NIA in 2019 for alleged terror links, was charred to death in suspicious circumstances after an LPG cylinder inside a vehicle he was driving exploded near Kottai Eswaran temple in Ukkadam around 4am on October 23, a day before Diwali. The incident took place around 200 metres from a police patrol.
The deceased was registered as the prime accused in the blast. The state police had invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the case.
{{/usCountry}}The deceased was registered as the prime accused in the blast. The state police had invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the case.
{{/usCountry}}“According to preliminary investigations, the accused, Jameesha Mubin, after taking bayah (oath of allegiance) to the global outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, was planning to carry out suicidal attacks and cause extensive damage to symbols and monuments of a particular religious faith and with the intention to strike terror among a particular section of the community,” the NIA said in a statement.
“The accused (arrested) persons had conspired with the deceased to procure different chemicals and other ingredients for fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), including a vehicle borne IED, from online shopping platforms to commit sensational terrorist acts,” it added.
Digital devices and incriminating documents were seized from the locations during the raids, the agency said.
The NIA suspects a larger conspiracy in the case as Mubin and the six arrested men were were in contact with Mohammad Azharuddin from Ukkadam, who is currently in jail for purported links with ISIS and the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka in 2019.
Local police had also recovered 75 kgs of potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulphur and aluminum power, used for making explosives, from Mubin’s residence in Ukkadam,
In 2018, the NIA had begun an investigation into an ISIS module headed by Azharuddin in Coimbatore. Based on its findings, Indian agencies sent three alerts to Sri Lanka security agencies about a possible plan to carry out a major strike there.
After the Sri Lanka bombings killed over 250 people, the NIA registered a suo-motu case against six people from Coimbatore.
During the course of the probe, the NIA learnt that Azharuddin and his associate, Sheikh Hidayatulla, were in touch with bombings mastermind Maulvi Zahran bin Hashim and were planning to carry out similar strikes in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
As first reported by HT earlier, Hashim and Mohammad Azaan, one of the suicide bombers in the Sri Lanka attacks, had visited India in 2017 and 2018 to discuss the plans of Islamic State.