NIA links 2022 Coimbatore blast to ISIS plot targeting ‘kafirs' in India
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said that the Islamic State (ISIS) continues to actively plan attacks on places of worship belonging to non-believers, or 'kafirs', as part of a broader campaign to spread Salafi jihad across India. According to sources in the NIA, these plots are aimed at fuelling sectarian violence and avenging the arrests of ISIS-linked operatives. NIA Investigators have linked the 2022 Coimbatore car bomb blast in Tamil Nadu to this pattern of radicalisation and retaliation. The explosion, which killed suicide attacker Jamesha Mubeen, was allegedly carried out in response to the earlier arrest of Salafi extremist Mohammed Azharuddin by the NIA in 2019. Mubeen, the NIA claims, had pledged allegiance to ISIS's self-styled Caliph Abu-Al-Hasan Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, and aimed to target non-believers in line with extremist ideology. advertisementThe NIA filed its fourth supplementary charge sheet in the case on Thursday, naming five more individuals: Sheikh Hidayathullah, Umar Faarug, Pavas Rahman, Sharan Mariappan and Aboo Hanifa. With this, seventeen people have been chargesheeted in total in connection with the attack that targeted the Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil temple in Coimbatore in October 2022.
The latest charge sheet includes fresh allegations of terror financing against Hidayathullah and Umar Faarug, who had already been named in earlier chargesheets for related offences. According to the NIA, the two orchestrated a fake Covid 19 vaccine certificate scam in 2021 and 2022, using the proceeds to fund the purchase of explosive materials and logistical support for the car bomb. Pavas Rahman and Sharan Mariappan allegedly facilitated the scam, while Aboo Hanifa provided financial assistance to generate the fake certificates.advertisementPrior to the attack, the accused are said to have held conspiracy meetings at the Viyyur High-Security Prison and in the Sathyamangalam Reserve Forest. The plan, according to the NIA, was to retaliate against the arrest of Azharuddin and continue spreading Salafi-Jihadist propaganda under the ISIS banner.Jamesha Mubeen had carried out the suicide bombing using a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) packed into a modified Maruti car. The NIA noted that since Mubeen died in the attack, charges against him have been abated.Trending Reel
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Hindustan Times
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