Anti-terror agency chargesheets another accused in Coimbatore blast case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against another accused, Thaha Naseer, in connection with the 2022 Islamic State-inspired Coimbatore car bomb blast case.

Thaha Naseer and his associates had conspired to wage war against the government of India and also to kill Indians to destabilise the country and create communal disharmony, the anti-terror agency said.

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

The 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 in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore.

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 Islamic State ideology and had abetted his associates and hatched a conspiracy to target 'kafirs' (non-believers of Islam) while inside the prison.

NIA investigations have revealed that Thaha Naseer was a close associate of Jamesha Mubeen and Umar Faaruq, the leader of the terror attack. Umar Faaruq had recruited like-minded individuals, including Jamesha Mubeen, along with Mohammed Thoufeek and Thaha Naseer.

Umar Faaruq 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, the NIA said.

According to NIA investigations, Mohammed Thoufeek and Thaha 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.