In a significant development in the 2022 Coimbatore car blast case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested four more individuals for their alleged role in recruiting youth to the banned terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS).
Fresh Arrests Bring Total Accused to Eight in State
The newly arrested have been identified as Ahmed Ali, Jawahar Sathik, Raja Abdullah alias MAC Raja, and Sheik Dawood. According to the NIA, the four were allegedly radicalised by Jameel Basha, founder of the Madras Arabic College. Basha and his associates are accused of recruiting youth and subtly propagating Salafi-Jihadi ideology under the guise of conducting Arabic language classes. With these arrests, the total number of accused apprehended in Tamil Nadu has risen to eight.
Blast Near Sangameswarar Temple in 2022
The case stems from a car explosion that occurred on October 23, 2022, near the Arulmigu Kottai Sangameswarar Temple in Coimbatore. Jameesha Mubeen, who died in the blast, was identified as an ISIS sympathiser. Investigations revealed that the explosion was caused by a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED), and the LPG cylinder in the car was packed with iron pellets and sharp metal objects to maximize damage.
Searches at Mubeen’s residence led to the seizure of explosive materials including potassium nitrate, sulphur, aluminium powder, and charcoal suggesting that the blast was not accidental but part of a planned suicide attack.
Arabic College Under Scanner
NIA officials raided the Arabic college in Kuniyamuthur, founded by Basha, and reportedly uncovered documents promoting ISIS ideology. The agency also stated that classrooms and social media platforms were being misused for radicalisation efforts across the state.
Earlier, the NIA had arrested Basha along with Irshath, Syed Abdur Rahman, and Mohammed Hussain in connection with the case.
Radical Meetings and ISIS Links
According to the NIA, the accused promoted Khilafat ideology and the concept of martyrdom through jihad, advocating violent means to establish an Islamic State by overthrowing the democratically elected Indian government.
Investigations revealed that several meetings among the accused were held at Viyyur High-Security Prison and in the Sathyamangalam reserve forest, where they allegedly planned their operations. The group was motivated to avenge the arrest of their leader Mohammed Azharuddin, who was nabbed by the NIA in 2019 from Coimbatore for promoting Salafi-Jihadi ideology.
Mubeen had reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS’s self-proclaimed Caliph Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, and intended to attack non-believers as part of his extremist ideology.
17 Charge sheeted in Total
Earlier this year, the NIA filed its fourth supplementary chargesheet against five more persons: Sheikh Hidayathullah, Umar Faaruq, Pavas Rahman, Sharan Mariappan, and Aboo Hanifa, charging them with terror-financing and other offences. With this, a total of 17 individuals have been chargesheeted in the case.
Charges against Jameesha Mubeen were abated since he died while executing the suicide bombing.
Appeasement replaces accountability
Reacting to the recent arrests, Former Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai lashed out at the ruling DMK government. In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), he said:
“‘Just a cylinder blast’, they said. It turns out it was a full-blown ISIS-linked radicalisation and recruitment network operating under the nose of the DMK government, using classrooms as terror factories. Four more were arrested yesterday, making it eight in total, all linked to the Coimbatore suicide bombing.”
He further criticised the DMK for allegedly downplaying the incident:
“While the NIA is working tirelessly to dismantle these terror cells, the DMK continues to brush off suicide bombings as mere accidents. When appeasement replaces accountability, national security pays the price. Tamil Nadu deserves better.”
NIA Nabs 35-Year-Old Man in Dindigul for Online ISIS Content
In a separate development on Wednesday evening, a 35-year-old man, Raja Mohammed, was secured by an NIA team from his residence in Neikkarapatti, Dindigul district, for allegedly posting pro-ISIS messages online.
He was initially taken to the Palani Town Police Station for questioning and later shifted to Coimbatore. According to sources, this is not his first run-in with authorities he was previously questioned by the NIA three years ago for similar activities but was let off after preliminary inquiry.
