Coimbatore car bomb blast case: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested three more accused in the 2022 ISIS-inspired Coimbatore car bomb blast case. With the arrest of Aboo Hanifa, Saran Mariappan and Pavas Rahman, the NIA has unearthed the terror financing angle in the case, according to the probe agency.
With the latest arrest, the total number of accused apprehended in the case has gone up to 18. Four charge sheets have been so far filed against 14 accused before the NIA court at Poonamallee, Chennai, it said.
What NIA investigations revealed?
According to the NIA, the investigations revealed that the three accused had colluded to provide funds for the commission of the terror act. "Aboo Hanifa was employed as a faculty in Kovai Arabic College, where Jamesha Mubeen and other arrested accused persons got radicalised in ISIS ideology," the statement said.
Prior to carrying out the Coimbatore terror attack, Jamesha Mubeen had sworn allegiance by giving "bayath" to Abu-Al-Hasan Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, the then self-styled caliph of terrorist outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
What is the case?
The case relates to a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) explosion near the ancient Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil temple at Eswaran Kovil Street, Ukkadam, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu on October 23, 2022.
The terror attack was perpetrated by deceased accused Mubeen, a self-styled ISIS operative and suicide bomber, as an act of revenge against Kafirs or non-believers of Islam, the statement said.
An offshoot case registered with respect to the radicalization had separately led to the arrest and chargesheeting of four accused by NIA. Further investigations are continuing in the case.
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