Three individuals, implicated in the 2022 Coimbatore car bomb blast, were transported from Puzhal prison in Chennai to the temporary office of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Coimbatore on 11 November 2024, for questioning.
The accused—Abu Hanifa of Podanur, Saran Mariappan of Selvapuram, and Pawas Rahman of GM Nagar—arrived at the NIA office located within the Police Recruit School (PRS) complex, after the special NIA court in Poonamallee, Chennai, granted the agency six days of custody for further investigation.
Following their interrogation, the three suspects were placed under heavy police guard at the Race Course police station on Monday night. The NIA will continue questioning the trio until 14 November 2024 and may take them to various locations around the city on Tuesday to collect additional evidence.
To date, 17 individuals have been arrested in connection with the case. The primary suspect, Jamesha Mubeen, a 29-year-old IS (Islamic State) operative, acted as the suicide bomber in the Coimbatore attack and died in the explosion.
In this regard, one of the arrested suspects reportedly confessed, stating, “Jamesha Mubeen, who died in the Coimbatore car bomb blast, trained us in bomb-making and recruited us as suicide bombers.”
The attack took place on 23 October 2022, when Jamesha Mubeen detonated a car bomb outside the Kottai Easwaran Temple in Ukkadam, Coimbatore. The NIA subsequently arrested 18 of Mubeen’s associates, who were all detained in Puzhal Jail, Chennai.
During his testimony, Abu Hanifa revealed that in 2019, he and the others were part of an operation led by ISI terrorist Zahran Hashim in Sri Lanka. Hashim was responsible for the devastating Easter Sunday bombings that targeted churches and hotels, killing over 250 people. Hanifa stated that Jamesha Mubeen had taken charge of the Tamil Nadu branch of the IS group after Hashim’s death and had brought the group to Chennai for training.
Hanifa further testified that Mubeen aimed to become a prominent figure within the IS network, with plans to demolish Hindu temples, assassinate Hindu leaders, and target foreign embassies. He and his fellow suspects were reportedly trained in terrorism and bomb-making at Arabic colleges in Kerala and Coimbatore. According to Hanifa, Mubeen’s goal was to establish Muslim rule across India, teaching them to sacrifice their lives in pursuit of this mission. Their initial plan, he revealed, was to attack the Fort Easwaran Temple as a precursor to further operations.
This ongoing investigation highlights the extent of the radicalization efforts and the elaborate planning behind the Coimbatore attack.
(With inputs from Dinamalar)
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