The chargesheet relates to the case filed by the NIA Chennai branch in August last year, based on the investigation into the blast triggered by an explosives-laden car outside the Sangameswarar Temple temple at Kottaimedu in Coimbatore in 2022.
The charge sheet pertains to case RC-01/2023/NIA/CHE, which was initiated by the NIA Chennai branch in August 2023 following discoveries made in the Coimbatore car bomb blast case, the statement read.
NIA Chargesheets 4 in Tamil Nadu ISIS Radicalisation & Recruitment Case pic.twitter.com/tIl5SLcUpj
— NIA India (@NIA_India) August 6, 2024
The NIA, during the investigation into the explosion that was triggered outside an ancient temple in Coimbatore, had established that the majority of the accused arrested in the case were engaged in the recruitment of gullible youth to the ISIS fold for the commission of unlawful and terrorist activities.
The religious indoctrination was carried out by the accused at an Arabic language centre called Madras Arabic College (at Coimbatore), later rechristened as Kovai Arabic College, the statement said.
Jameel Basha was the patron and chief mentor, who had guided his alumni to establish Arabic language centres at the district level, it said. The centre at Coimbatore was set up by Mohammed Hussain and Irshath.
According to NIA’s statement, Jameel Basha’s live or recorded speeches were played for the students at these centres. Social media platforms were also utilized to radicalize young people.
The IED planted in a car exploded outside the Coimbatore temple “as part of the violent jehad espoused by the accused”, the agency said.
The investigation agency further stated that accused Jamesha Mubeen, who died, was radicalized by accused Syed Abdur Rahman and swore allegiance to Darul-e-Islam, or ISIS. He carried out the IED blast as part of the terrorist group’s anti-India campaign.
Coimbatore blast
On October 23, 2022, there was an explosion at about 4 AM in a Maruti car just opposite the Kottai Eswaran temple in the Ukkadam area of Coimbatore. The vehicle, a Maruti 800 hatchback, was shattered into pieces as a result of the bomb blast. One Islamist accused identified as Jamesha Mubin also died in the incident.
It was reported earlier, that Mubin was an engineering graduate and was influenced by ISIS. He 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 3 other men, namely, Mohammad Riyaz, Feroz Ismail, and Mohammad Navaz Ismail.
The Police during the investigation also recovered unexploded LPG cylinders, steel balls, glass pebbles, and aluminum and iron nails from the spot. A total of 6 people, namely, Mohammad Thalka, Mohammad Azarudheen, Riyaz, Nawaz, Afsar Khan, and Feroz had been arrested in connection to the case. The accused were charged under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 3A of the Explosive Substances Act by the Ukkadam police.
Coimbatore car blast terrorist Jamesha Mubin was completely radicalised
Investigators probing the October 23 Coimbatore blast had concluded that Jamesha Mubin was indeed on a suicide mission as he had shaved his body before the mission, a usual practice of suicide bombers following ISIS ideology.
Among the handwritten entries in Tamil that Tamil Nadu police found at Jamesha Mubin’s home in the Kottaimedu neighbourhood of Ukkadam were references to Muslims as “second-class citizens,” the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the hijab dispute in Karnataka, and a flow diagram with the names of Gods from various religions.
Along with a prayer that featured on the IS flag, Mubeen inscribed on the slate in Tamil, which translates to ‘those who dare to touch Allah’s house will be uprooted,’ according to the source. “We have evidence that he was influenced by videos of Sri Lankan Easter bombings mastermind Maulvi Zaharan Bin Hashim,” the official said.
Mubeen also left a scribbling on a white piece of paper that stated the call to Jihad,” an officer said.
