The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday, April 20, filed a chargesheet against six persons in the Coimbatore car bomb blast case that took place near a temple in October 2022. The chargesheet has been filed against six accused -- Mohammed Asarutheen, Mohammed Thalha, Firos, Mohammed Riyas, Navas and Afsar Khan -- under the relevant sections of Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The car driven by Jamesha Mubeen had blown up in front of the temple in October last year, killing Mubeen in the impact. Investigation had revealed that Mubeen was inspired by ISIS ideology to carry out the attack. The case was initially registered in November last year at Ukkadam police station before the probe was handed over to the NIA.
A pen drive recovered from Mohammed Asarutheen contained video recordings of Mubeen, in which 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 attack against the 'kafirs' (non-believers) and to become a martyr. Mubeen was inspired by the sermons of Zahran Hashim, a radical Islamic cleric based out of Sri Lanka, who masterminded the Easter bomb attacks in Colombo 2019 that killed around 260 people. Mubeen wanted to orchestrate a similar kind of attack 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, was mentioned. There was also a mention of the probable targets, which included government offices, courts, public gathering places like parks, railway stations, and a few local temples.
Mubeen was aided and assisted by his associates Mohammed Asarutheen, Mohammed Thalha, Firos, Mohammed Riyas, Navas and Afsar Khan in arranging the logistics. Thalha had arranged the Maruti 800 car which was used in the explosion. Firos, Riyas and Navas had loaded the explosives, gas cylinders, etc. in the car. Asarutheen and Afsar, both cousins of Mubeen, had procured, weighed, mixed and packed the chemical constituents used to manufacture the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) used in the blast.