NIA Arrests Three in Coimbatore Car Bomb Case, Unearths Terror Financing Angle

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended three more suspects in the ISIS-inspired Coimbatore car bomb blast case, increasing the total arrests to 18. The investigation reveals a terror financing angle, with four chargesheets filed against 14 accused in the case.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced the arrest of three additional individuals involved in the October 2022 ISIS-inspired car bombing in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. This development raises the total count of apprehended suspects to 18, according to an official statement released on Monday.

Among those arrested are Aboo Hanifa, Saran Mariappan, and Pavas Rahman, whose involvement has exposed a terror financing aspect to the case. So far, the NIA has filed four chargesheets against 14 individuals, as noted in their statement. The case, RC-01/2022/NIA/CHE, concerns a Vehicle Borne IED explosion near the Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil temple in Ukkadam, Coimbatore on October 23, 2022.

The attack was orchestrated by deceased suspect Jamesha Mubeen, an alleged ISIS operative and suicide bomber, as an act of reprisal against non-believers, according to the NIA. Investigations revealed that the three recently arrested suspects collaborated in financially supporting the terror act. Aboo Hanifa is identified as a faculty member at Kovai Arabic College, where Mubeen and other accused were radicalized. Further investigations continue as a related radicalization case has resulted in the arrest and chargesheeting of four other individuals.

(With inputs from agencies.)