The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested four additional individuals in connection with an ISIS-inspired radicalisation and recruitment case in Tamil Nadu, bringing the total number of arrests to eight. The case is an offshoot of the 2022 Coimbatore car bomb blast investigation.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, 18 June 2025, the NIA identified the newly arrested accused as Ahmed Ali from Chennai, Jawahar Sathik, Raja Abdullah alias MAC Raja, and Sheikh Dawood from Coimbatore and Dindigul. These individuals were allegedly part of a wider extremist network that recruited and radicalised youth under the pretext of Arabic language education.
According to the NIA, the arrested individuals were indoctrinated by Jameel Basha, founder of the Madras Arabic College in Coimbatore. Basha, who was previously arrested along with associates Irshath, Syed Abdur Rahman, and Mohammed Hussain, is accused of using classroom settings and social media platforms to promote Salafi-Jihadi and Khilafat ideologies. The network advocated violent jihad and the establishment of an Islamic state through the overthrow of India’s democratically elected government.
Investigators believe the radicalisation campaign contributed to the deadly car bomb blast on 23 October 2022, near the Kottai Eswaran Temple in Coimbatore, which killed the bomber, Jamesha Mubeen. The NIA took over the case shortly afterward and began unravelling the broader ISIS-linked recruitment network operating in Tamil Nadu.
The agency revealed that the group’s operations extended beyond Coimbatore to Chennai and Dindigul, and involved logistical support for terror-related activities.
Officials confirmed that the NIA is now preparing a supplementary chargesheet to include the four latest accused. Investigations into possible international connections and additional recruits are continuing, as the agency works to dismantle what it describes as a significant threat to national security.
4 More Accused Arrested by NIA in TN Radicalisation and Recruitment Case Involving Kovai Arabic College pic.twitter.com/fEkSZFAKQe
— NIA India (@NIA_India) June 18, 2025
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