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Coimbatore bomber tried to do something ‘spectacular’, says NIA
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed its first charge sheet regarding a 2019 bombing outside a temple in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore, stating that the blast was planned by self-inspired Islamic State (IS) operative Jameesha Mubeen. Mubeen attended conspiracy meetings in the interior forests of the state's Erode district and was inspired by the mastermind of the April 21, 2019 bombings in Sri Lanka, Maulvi Zahran bin Hashim. The NIA has named six people who helped Mubeen prepare for the attack. The agency has arrested at least 175 people in close to 40 cases of terror attacks, conspiracy, and funding inspired by the IS ideology in India.
The blast outside a temple in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore last year was planned in the interior forests of the state’s Erode district during conspiracy meetings, which were attended by self-inspired Islamic State (IS) operative Jameesha Mubeen, who wanted to do something “spectacular”, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said in a charge sheet.
Inspired by Maulvi Zahran bin Hashim, a Sri Lankan radical Islamic cleric who was the mastermind of April 21, 2019 bombings in the island nation that claimed over 260 lives, Mubeen wanted to carry out similar attacks in India, NIA has said in its first charge sheet filed on April 20.
On October 23 last year, a vehicle carrying improvised explosive device (IED) and being driven by Jameesha Mubeen exploded outside the Kottai Eswaran Temple in Coimbatore. Mubeen was killed in the blast.
“Conspiracy meetings were organised in the interior of forested regions of Asanoor and Kadambur areas of Sathyamangalam forest, Erode district, in February 2022, which were attended by Umar Farooq, Jameesha Mubeen, Mohammed Azharuddin, Sheikh Hidayatullah and Sanofar Ali, where they decided to prepare for and execute spectacular terror acts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu,” said an NIA official, sharing details of the charge sheet.
The agency has named six people in its first charge sheet who had helped Mubeen to prepare for the blast.
According to the charge sheet, Mubeen started preparing for the attack by gathering items for preparation of IED, the official said, requesting anonymity.
His associates – Mohammed Asarutheen, Mohammed Thalha, Firos, Mohammed Riyas, Navas and Afsar Khan – helped in arranging logistics. “For instance, Thalha sourced the Maruti 800 car which was used in the blast; Firos, Riyas and Navas had loaded explosives, gas cylinders, etc in the car, so that it leads to multiple explosions and fire; while his cousins Asarutheen and Afsar procured, weighed, mixed and packed the chemical constituents used to manufacture the bomb,” the officer added, citing the charge sheet.
The anti-terror probe agency had recovered handwritten notes from Mubeen’s residence in which targets, including government buildings, district court, parks, and railway stations, were mentioned.
The anti-terror probe agency had recovered handwritten notes from Mubeen’s residence in which targets including government buildings, district court, parks, railway stations etc were mentioned.
Mubeen was questioned by NIA in 2019 as well, while Azharuddin had headed an IS module in Coimbatore in 2018-19. Other accused in the case are currently lodged in different prisons.
NIA has till date arrested at least 175 people in close to 40 cases of terror attacks, conspiracy and funding which have been inspired by the IS ideology in India. The charge sheets have been filed in over 32 cases linked to the IS.
It has also prepared a databank on IS modules busted so far with detailed analysis on handlers, funding, modus operandi, countries visited, and ideologues etc.
