Coimbatore car bomb accused inspired by ISIS, says NIA in chargesheet

The NIA on Thursday filed a chargesheet against six people in connection with the October 2022 Coimbatore car bomb blast, saying the prime accused of the terrorist attack was "inspired by ISIS ideology".

The case pertains to an explosion that took place on October 23, 2022 at an ancient temple, Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil, on Eswaran Kovil Street, Ukkadam in Coimbatore.

A vehicle-borne improvised explosives device (V-IED), driven by Jamesha Mubeen, had blown up in front of the temple. Mubeen was killed in the blast, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in a statement.

"Mubeen was inspired by ISIS ideology to carry out this attack. He had also taken 'bayath' or oath of allegiance to its self-proclaimed Caliph Abu-al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi," it said.

While the charges against Mubeen were abated as he was killed, the agency charged his alleged associates Mohammed Asarutheen, Mohammed Thalha, Firos, Mohammed Riyas, Navas and Afsar Khan under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), IPC and the Explosives Substances Act.

Mubeen, the NIA said, was "aided and assisted" by the six in arranging logistics.

"Thalha had sourced the Maruti 800 blue colour car bearing registration number TN-01-F-6163 which was used in the explosion of vehicle-borne IED," it said.

Firos, Riyas and Navas had loaded the explosives, gas cylinders, etc. in the car making it the potent weapon it became, while Asarutheen and Afsar, both cousins of Mubeen, procured, weighed, mixed and packed the chemical constituents used to manufacture the V-IED used in the attack, the statement said.

A pen drive was recovered from Mohammed Asarutheen and it "contained" video recordings of Jamesha Mubeen, where he had identified himself as a member of Daulat-e-Islamia (or Islamic state), the NIA said.

"He had spoken extensively on his intention to commit a suicide terror attack against the 'kafirs' (non-believers) and to become a martyr.

"Mubeen was inspired by the bayans (sermons) of Zahran Hashim, a radical Islamic cleric of Sri Lanka, who masterminded the Easter serial suicide bomb attacks in 2019 killing around 260 people. Mubeen wanted to orchestrate a similar kind of attack against the 'kafirs' in India," it said.

The agency said it also recovered handwritten notes from Mubeen's residence where criticism of the "existing" democratic system, which are not in tandem with Islamic laws, has been mentioned.

There is also a mention of 'targets', including government offices, district courts, public gathering places like parks, railway stations and a few other local temples, in these notes, the NIA claimed.

It said the Islamic State of Khorasan Province's online magazine called 'Voice of Khorasan' corroborated this in an article titled, 'A Message to the Inhabitants in the Land Occupied by Cow and Mice Worshipping Filths', where the ISKP took responsibility for this attack.

"The article goes on to state that the attack was revenge to uphold the honour of their religion and to establish Allah's deen and his law upon his land and to terrorise the 'Kufr' and its followers with the threat that it was just the beginning," the NIA said.