NIA charge sheets 4 men for radicalising youths, recruiting them for ISIS

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday filed a charge sheet against four men in a special court in Chennai for radicalising youths and recruiting them for terrorist outfit ISIS.

The accused have been identified as Jameel Basha, Mohammed Hussain, Irshath and Syed Abdur Rahman, a statement issued by the NIA said.

They have been charge-sheeted under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a special NIA court in Chennai.

The charge sheet relates to a case, filed suo motu by the NIA Chennai branch in August last year, based on the findings in the 2022 Coimbatore car bomb blast case.

The NIA, during the course of 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.

Social media platforms, as well as classroom sessions, were used to radicalise youth at these centres, where Jameel Basha's live or pre-recorded sermons were flashed to the students, the probe agency said.

The IED planted in a car exploded outside the Coimbatore temple "as part of the violent jehad espoused by the accused", the agency said.

Accused Jamesha Mubeen, who died, had pledged his allegiance to Darul-e-Islam / ISIS and had carried out the IED blast as part of the anti-India campaign of ISIS after being radicalised by accused Syed Abdur Rahman, it added.