Coimbatore car blast case: NIA files chargesheet against six

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged six people in the October 2022 Coimbatore car bomb blast case on Thursday.

Mohammed Asarutheen, Mohammed Thalha, Firos, Mohammed Riyas, Navas, and Afsar Khan have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Explosives Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. However, the charges against Jamesha Mubeen, who was inspired by ISIS ideology, have been aided by his death in the terrorist act.

In October of last year, an explosion occurred at the Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil temple on Eswaran Kovil Street in Ukkadam, Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore.

A vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (V-IED) was detonated in front of the temple by Jamesha Mubeen. The explosion killed Mubeen.
According to the NIA, investigations revealed Mubeen was inspired to carry out this attack by ISIS ideology, and that “he had also taken a ‘bayath’ or oath of allegiance to its self-proclaimed Caliph Abu-al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.”

On October 27, last year, the NIA re-registered the case and resumed its investigation.

“A pen drive recovered from Mohammed Asarutheen contained videos recordings of Jamesha Mubeen, where he had identified himself as a member of Daulat-e-Islamia (or Islamic State). He had spoken extensively on his intention to commit a suicide terror attack against the ‘kafirs’ (non-believers) and to become a martyr,” said the NIA in its chargesheet.

According to the agency, Mubeen was inspired by the bayans (sermons) of Zahran Hashim, a radical Islamic cleric from Sri Lanka who masterminded the Easter serial suicide bomb attacks in 2019 that killed around 260 people.

The NIA also stated that Mubeen intended to carry out a similar type of attack against ‘kafirs’ in India.

“Handwritten notes were recovered from Mubeen’s residence wherein 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 Office buildings, District Court, public gathering places like Parks, Railway station, and a few other local Temples are also mentioned in these notes,” the chargesheet states.

“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 ISKP took responsibility for the attack held at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu,” said the NIA.

According to the article, the attack was intended to uphold the honour of their religion and to establish Allah’s deen and his law upon his land, as well as to terrorise the ‘Kufr’ and its followers with the threat that it was only the beginning.

“Mubeen was aided and assisted by his associates Mohammed Asarutheen, Mohammed Thalha, Firos, Mohammed Riyas, Navas and Afsar Khan 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. Firos, Riyas and Navas had loaded the explosives, gas cylinders, etc. in the car making it the potent weapon it became,” the agency stated.

It was added that Asarutheen and Afsar, Mubeen’s cousins, had obtained, weighed, mixed, and packed the chemical constituents used to manufacture the VBIED used in the attack.