Chennai, Nov 4: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested one more person in connection with Coimbatore car bomb blast that took place on Deepavali eve last year.
The arrested man has been identified as Taha Naseer (27), son of Abdul Kadar of Madheena Avenue at Thirumalai Nagar in Podanur in the city.
Naseer (27), who was working as a painter at a car sales and service company in Coimbatore, was the 14th person to be arrested in connection with the the ISIS-inspired car bomb blast in front of Sangameswarar Temple at Kottaimedu in Coimbatore on October 23, 2022, which investigations revealed was a terror module.
He was brought to Chennai city today and produced him before a special court for NIA cases at Poonamallee which remanded him in judicial custody till November 17.
He was charged for conspiring with suspects the suicide bomber Jamesha Mubeen, who died when the explosives-filled gas cylinder in the car exploded, and key accused Mohammed Thoufeek to commit the terror attack.
Investigations revealed that Naseer and Thoufeeq had visited the residence of Jamesha Mubeen, exactly one week prior to the attack and they had all conspired to carry out the act of terror.
Scrutiny of Naseer’s digital device also revealed that he was in possession of ISIS-inspired literature and had deliberately attempted to cover his tracks by deleting the incriminating material employing specific mobile-based application software and apps following the terror incident, according to an NIA release.
Mubeen’s wife had confessed that the trio had a meeting. revealed the trio’s meeting in her confession.
It may be recalled that the NIA had on September one arresed the 13th accused in the case.
NIA sources said “another accused linked with the ISIS-inspired Car IED bomb blast of Coimbatore is in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) net for his involvement in the 2022 terror attack. Mohammed Azarudeen @ Azar is the 13th person to be arrested in the case which the NIA had taken over and re-registered on 27th October 2022.”
Interestingly, Azarudeen is already in Jail at the Viyyur High-Security Prison in Thrissur, Kerala, in another case. He was arrested and chargesheeted earlier in the Tamil Nadu ISIS module case and was subsequently sent to judicial custody.
Investigations have revealed that Azarudeen had previously taken secret ‘bayan’ classes along with the accused in the Coimbatore blast case, including Jamesha Mubeen, the vehicle’s driver who was killed in the explosion. It was at these classes that all the accused were indoctrinated with ISIS ideology and motivated to commit violent acts of terror.
During the course of further Investigation, NIA found that Jamesha Mubeen, along with two other arrested accused, had met Mohammed Azarudeen @ Azar in prison. They had then hatched the Sathyamangalam conspiracy (the car bomb blast plan was concretised in the Sathyamangalam forests) to plan and prepare a terror attack to revenge Azar’s arrest and to get him released from
jail through a Jail-attack.
The Coimbatore car bomb blast had taken place on 23rd October last year in front of an ancient Temple, Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil, at Eswaran Kovil Street, Ukkadam, Coimbatore. The Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosives Device (VBIED) was being driven by the deceased accused Jamesha Mubeen.
Mubeen and his associates were inspired by hardcore ISIS ideology to conspire and commit the act of terror after taking ‘bayath’ or allegiance to its self-proclaimed Caliph Abu-Al-Hasan Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi. As per NIA investigations, the accused had intended to take revenge on the Kafirs (non-believers of Islam) through this terror attack.
NIA has so far filed two chargesheets in the case before the NIA Court, Poonamallee, Chennai. Sixaccused were chargesheeted on 20th April this year and five on 2nd June 2023. The 12th accused, Mohammed Idris, was arrested on 2nd August 2023
