On November 15, Tamil Nadu Police busted an ISIS terror module in Chennai. As per reports, 18 suspects were detained and interrogated by the police over alleged terror links. The police conducted multiple raids and searched the premises of at least four suspects of ISIS sympathisers in Chennai in connection to the ISIS crackdown following the Coimbatore cylinder blast.
TN | Searches were conducted at the residences of 4 suspects connected to NIA cases today morning. Raid at a location in Muthialpet PS limits resulted in seizure of Rs 4,90,000 in cash & foreign currencies. Electronic gadgets, credit cards, debit cards also seized: Chennai Police
— ANI (@ANI) November 15, 2022
As per News Agency ANI, the police recovered money, laptops and phones during the raids. The properties linked to Mohammad Thabrez of Kodangayur, Thowfiq Ahmed of Sevenwells, Haroon Rasheed of Mannady and Mohammed Mustafa of North Beach were among those that were searched during the raids. These four suspects have pending cases of selling SIM cards and fake passports to banned organisations.
Mohammad Tharbez is accused of transferring money for the Khilafah movement. He allegedly helped the terrorist organisation ISIS by recruiting Muslim youth for terror activities. A case was registered against him by National Investigation Agency in 2017.
Thowfiq Ahammed had allegedly helped to mobilise money for terror activities in Syria and Iraq in the name of Ansarullah. Dubai Government caught him while he was working there as a Bank accountant. Ahammed was deported to India. On his return, NIA arrested him in Delhi under UAPA.
Haroon Rasheed was interrogated by Rajasthan Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) in 2016. Mohammed Mustafa is a suspected ISIS sympathiser and was arrested by NIA Delhi.
As per the News18 report, around Rs 15 lakh were recovered by the police. The suspects had currency from Thailand, China, Myanmar and Singapore.
#BreakingNews | TN police busts ISIS module in Chennai, 18 suspects interrogated over alleged terror links@nimumurali brings more details
— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 15, 2022
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Over 100 mobile phones, multiple debit and credit cards and other items were recovered from their possession. Furthermore, the report suggested that the raids were in continuation to the 43 raids that were conducted previously in the state by the investigation agency.
Coimbatore Blast
On October 22, Jamesha Mubin was caught on CCTV loading a large object (LPG cylinder) wrapped in a white bag onto his Maruti 800 car. It was around 11:25 pm. Mubin was accompanied by three other men, namely, Mohammad Riyaz, Feroz Ismail, and Mohammad Navaz Ismail.
At around 4 am on October 23 night, the car carrying Jamesha Mubin exploded mid-journey in the Ukkadam area of Coimbatore. The incident took place adjacent to the Kottai Easwaran Temple.
Preliminary investigation revealed that one of the two commercial cylinders onboard the car had exploded while the other remained intact. As per reports, the remains of Mubin’s body were unrecognisable.
A total of 6 people, namely, Mohammad Thalka, Mohammad Azarudheen, Riyaz, Nawaz, Afsar Khan and Feroz, were arrested in connection to the case. It also came to light that the NIA interrogated Mubin in 2019 regarding the Easter bomb blasts.
It later came to light that Jamesha Mubin was motivated by the Islamic State and engaged in preparing for jihad. Reportedly, he was on a suicide mission to destroy a large area, including a Hindu temple using his car bomb.
On October 27, the case was transferred to the NIA by the Centre, following the recommendation of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. An official said, “The Union home ministry decided to hand over the Coimbatore blast case to the NIA.”
