NIA registers case in Oct 23 IS-linked Coimbatore blast

The National Investigation Agency on Thursday registered a case in the October 23 Coimbatore blast.

The investigating agency had already sent a DIG and SP to the spot to assist the police as the incident had strong Islamic State links and was a terror attack. The MHA gave approval to the NIA to register the case last night.

Day before Diwali, a car loaded with two gas cylinders had exploded near a temple in Coimbatore. The car was being driven by a 29-year-old engineering graduate Jameesha Mubin.

Mubin was questioned by the NIA in 2019 for alleged terror links. He was charred to death in suspicious circumstances after the LPG car inside the car exploded near the Kottai Eswaran temple in Ukkadam area of Coimbatore. Five people were arrested on Monday night.

On Thursday, a sixth suspect named Afsar Khan was arrested from Coimbatore. He is suspected of sourcing explosive materials through e-commerce platforms.

Mubin and the five arrested men were in contact with one Mohammad Azharuddin, who is currently in jail over his links to the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka in 2019.

Hindustan Times had reported that the CCTV footage showed Mubin and the others were carrying heavy objects wrapped in a white cloth from his house to the street at around 11.30 pm on Saturday.