NIA chargesheets another accused in 2022 ISIS-inspired Coimbatore car bomb blast case

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday chargesheeted Thaha Naseer, another accused in the 2022 ISIS-inspired Coimbatore car bomb blast case, an official statement said.

Naseer and his associates had conspired to wage war against the government of India and also to kill Indians in order to destabilise the country and create communal disharmony, it said.

Naseer is the 14th accused to be chargesheeted in the case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

"NIA on Friday filed its third supplementary chargesheet in the case relating to an explosion in front of the heritage Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil Temple at Eswaran Kovil Street in Ukkadam, Coimbatore," said the statement issued by the probe agency.

The blast was triggered on October 23, 2022 by a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED), driven by accused Jamesha Mubeen, who was killed in the blast.

The explosion was aimed at avenging the alleged incarceration of Mohammed Azaruddin in prison, the NIA said.

Azaruddin was arrested in 2019 for propagating the ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) ideology and had abetted his associates and hatched the conspiracy to target Kafirs (non-believers of Islam) while inside the prison, it added.

The NIA investigations have revealed that Naseer was a close associate of Jamesha Mubeen and Umar Faaruq, the Amir or leader of the terror attack.

Umar Faaruq had recruited like-minded individuals, including the deceased accused Jamesha Mubeen, along with Mohammed Thoufeek and Naseer, the statement said.

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

The recruits were provided jungle training by Umar, who had also assigned roles to the accused persons for carrying out the blast, the NIA said.

As per the NIA investigations, Mohammed Thoufeek and Naseer had visited the house of Jamesha Mubeen a week before the blast and had planned to use the explosives to carry out a series of terror attacks.

"The larger aim of the conspiracy was to wage war against the government of India by targeting its various branches, i.e., general administration, police, judiciary, etc. and also to target and kill Indians in order to destabilise the country and create communal disharmony," it said.