NIA chargesheets four accused in Tamil Nadu ISIS radicalisation, recruitment case

New Delhi [India], August 6 (ANI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday charge sheeted four accused in an ISIS radicalisation and recruitment case, filed in Tamil Nadu as an offshoot of the 2022 Coimbatore temple car bomb blast case.

The four accused have been identified as Jameel Basha, Mohammed Hussain, Irshath and Syed Abdur Rahman. They have been chargesheeted under relevant sections of IPC and UA (P) Act. The chargesheet relates to case RC-01/2023/NIA/CHE, filed suo moto by the NIA Chennai branch in August 2023, based on the findings in the Coimbatore car bomb blast case.

NIA, during the course of the investigation into the explosion that was triggered outside an ancient temple in Coimbatore, had established that majority of the accused arrested in the case were engaged in the recruitment of gullible youth to the ISIS fold for commission of unlawful and terrorist activities. The religious indoctrination was carried out by the accused at an Arabic language centre called Madras Arabic College (at Coimbatore), later rechristened as Kovai Arabic College.

Jameel Basha was the patron and chief mentor, who had guided his alumni to establish Arabic language centres at district level. The centre at Coimbatore was set up by Mohammed Hussain and Irshath. Social media platforms as well as classroom sessions were used to radicalise youth at these centres, where Jameel Basha’s live or pre-recorded sermons were flashed to the students.

The vehicle-borne IED attacked outside the Coimbatore temple was orchestrated as part of the violent jehad espoused by the accused. The deceased accused Jamesha Mubeen, who had pledged his allegiance to Darul-e-Islam / ISIS, had carried out the IED blast as part of the anti-India campaign of ISIS after being radicalised by accused Syed Abdur Rahman.

Further investigations are underway into the case.