NIA chargesheets 14th accused in Coimbatore car bomb blast case

The National Investigation Agency on Friday ‹led a chargesheet before the court for NIA cases at Poonamalee in Chennai against one more accused in the 2022 “ISIS-inspired” Coimbatore car bomb blast case.

The agency said Thaha Naseer was the 14th accused to have been chargesheeted under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

This is the third supplementary chargesheet in the case registered to probe an explosion in front of the Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil on Eswaran Kovil Street in Ukkadam, Coimbatore, on October 23, 2022.

The improvised explosive device had been kept in a vehicle driven by the accused Jamesha Mubeen, who was killed in the blast.

“The explosion was aimed at avenging the alleged incarceration of Mohammed Azaruddin in prison. Azaruddin was arrested in 2019 for propagating ISIS ideology, and had abetted his associates and hatched the conspiracy to target ka rs (non-believers of Islam) while inside the prison,” said the NIA.

According to the agency, Naseer was a close associate of Mubeen and accused Umar Faaruq, the “Amir or leader”, of the terror attack.

It alleged that Faaruq had recruited like-minded individuals, including Mubeen, along with accused Mohammed Thoufeek and Naseer.

“He had gathered the recruits in a secluded region, Jalakumadavu aka Jothimadavu, in the core forest zone of Sathyamangalam Reserve Forest, Erode district, planted an ISIS £ag in the region, and declared it as their ilaka / province.

The recruits were provided training by Umar, who had also assigned roles to the accused persons for carrying out the blast,” said theNational Investigation Agency.

The NIA alleged that Thoufeek and Naseer had visited the house of Mubeen, a week before the blast, and had planned to use the explosives to carry out a series of terror attacks.