NIA raids in 3 Southern states in Coimbatore and Mangaluru blasts

The National Investigation Agency is conducting raids at 40 locations across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka in connection with the Coimbatore and Mangaluru blast cases from last year.

The searches come months after similar raids were held by the central agency at 43 locations in Tamil Nadu in connection with the October 23 Coimbatore blast case. Raids were also carried out in Kerala’s Palakkad. The NIA had seized digital devices and incriminating documents from the houses of the suspects.

The Coimbatore blast in Tamil Nadu had killed Jameesha Mubeen, who was travelling in the car which exploded in front of the Kottai Eswaran temple.

The NIA has claimed Mubeen, after taking an oath to the global terror outfit Islamic State, was planning to carry out suicidal attacks and cause extensive damage to symbols and monuments of a particular religious faith with the intention to strike terror among a particular section of a community. At least six people have been arrested in the case. The NIA also conducted searches at Jamesha Mubin’s residence in January. The police termed the explosion as a “Lone Wolf” attack.

The Centre had ordered a NIA probe into the Coimbatore blast, considering the possibility of cross-state developments and the role of international elements in the investigation.

The NIA took over the probe into the Mangaluru blast in Karnataka, in which an explosion in an auto-rickshaw injured two people – the driver and the passenger, Mohammed Shariq (24), who is also the prime accused in the case.

During probe of the blast case, the NIA learned that Shariq and his associates wanted to set up an Islamic state camp in the forests of Karnataka.

The NIA had searched the premises of the homestay where Shariq was staying and details of the training that he underwent were collected in last year’s raids.