Mohammed Idris of Ukkadam was part of the conspiracy behind the October 2022 terror attack.
NIA sleuths after tracking the call records of the suspect and the confessions of other accused, made out the role of Idris in the conspiracy
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested one more person in connection with the Coimbatore car bomb blast, taking the number of arrests to 12.
Mohammed Idris, 25, a resident of GM Nagar at Ukkadam in Coimbatore was arrested for allegedly conspiring with others to carry out the Islamic State (IS)-inspired terror attack.
An accused, Jamesha Mubeen, was killed when the crude explosive went off in front of the Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil on Eswaran Kovil Street at Kottaimedu near Ukkadam on 23 October, 2022.
NIA said Idris was closely associated with Mubeen and others who were part of the conspiracy.
Idris was arrested based on the call records of the other accused and their confessions, NIA sources said. He was earlier questioned twice. After his arrest, he was produced before an NIA court at Poonamallee in Chennai.
Mohammed Azharudheen, Muhammed Thalha, Firos Ismail, Muhammed Riyas, Nawaz Ismail, and Afsar Khan were arrested and they were charge-sheeted on 20 April. Later, Umar Farooq, Firoz Khan, Mohammed Thoufiq, Sheik Hidayathullah, and Sanofar Ali were arrested.
Azharudeen and Afsar allegedly helped Mubeen to procure, mix, and prime the explosives, while Thalha provided the car that was used in the crime. Firos, Riyas, and Nawaz helped Mubeen in loading components of the improvised explosive device, such as drums and gas cylinders, into the car, the NIA has said.
The NIA charge sheet stated that the conspiracy was hatched in the forest area of Sathyamangalam in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu, where Umar Farooq was elected as the Amir (Commander of the Army) to lead the attack. He assigned various roles to others.
“The conspirators had planned to use the remaining explosives for a series of terror attacks. Mohammed Thoufiq was in possession of radical books and a notepad handed over by Mubeen. It contained designs to make IEDs. Umar Farooq and Mubeen had also collected funds for the commission of the terror act, while the accused Sanofer Ali supported Mubeen financially. Firoz Khan abetted the terror attack by providing logistic support,” the charge sheet said.
NIA probe revealed that Mubeen was inspired and motivated by hardcore ISIS ideology and had committed the terror attack after promising bay’ah or allegiance to the terrorist organisation’s self-proclaimed Caliph Abu-Al-Hasan Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, an Iraqi militant and the third caliph of the IS.
The case was initially registered at Ukkadam police station and subsequently handed over to the NIA, which re-registered the case on 27 October 2022.
