Coimbatore news: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested three additional accused in connection with the ISIS-inspired car bomb blast that occurred in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, in October 2022. The latest arrests—Aboo Hanifa, Saran Mariappan, and Pavas Rahman—bring the total number of accused in the case to 18. The NIA has already filed chargesheets against 14 of them in the NIA Court at Poonamallee, Chennai.
The case, registered as RC-01/2022/NIA/CHE, revolves around a Vehicle Borne IED (VBIED) explosion that took place near the ancient Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil temple at Eswaran Kovil Street in Ukkadam, Coimbatore, on October 23, 2022, as per a release issued by NIA. The attack was allegedly carried out by Jamesha Mubeen, a self-proclaimed ISIS operative, who died in the explosion.
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According to the NIA, Mubeen had planned the suicide bombing as an act of revenge against non-believers of Islam.
NIA investigations revealed that the newly arrested suspects were involved in providing financial support for the attack. Aboo Hanifa, a faculty member at Kovai Arabic College, is said to have played a key role in radicalizing Mubeen and others with ISIS ideology. Mubeen had reportedly pledged allegiance to Abu-Al-Hasan Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, a former ISIS leader, before carrying out the attack.
The NIA has registered a related case focused on the radicalization process, which has led to the arrest and chargesheeting of four additional individuals. Further investigations into the terror financing and radicalization networks are ongoing.