Chennai: A NIA Special Court at Poonamallee here has granted seven days custody of five accused to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for interrogation in the Coimbatore car Blast on October 23 last year, in which a ISIS suspect Jameesha
Mubin was charred to death.
After the court remanded them in NIA custody last evening, a team of NIA officials today took them to Coimbatore amid tight security for detailed interrogation and for collecting evidences.
A couple of days back an Islamic Outfit has claimed responsbility for the Coimbatore Car explosion near a temple and the Auto blast in Karnataka.
Those sent into NIA custody were Muhammad Azharudheen, Firoz Ismail, Muhammad Nawaz Ismail, Umar Farooq and Feroze Khan. They would be in NIA custody till March 16 after which they will be brought back to Chennai and produced before the court and lodged
in Poonamallee jail.
A total of 11 accused, suspected to have ISIS links, were arrested in connection with the blast.
The other six arrested were Afsar Khan, Mohd Riyas, Mohd Thalha, Mohd Thoufeek, Sheikh Hidayathullah and Sanofar Ali, who were already interrogated by the NIA.
The suspected key conspirator, 29-yearold Jameesha Mubin was killed when a LPG cylinder in a car laden with explosives, exploded in front of Sangameswarar temple in Coimbatore on October 23 last year.
The NIA said Jameesha Mubin, the prime accused, after swearing ‘bayath’ (allegiance) to ISIS, was planning to carry out a suicide attack and cause extensive damage to Kottai Eswaran temple with an intention to strike terror.
As the blast turned out to be a terror plot, NIA officials raided the house of Jameesha Mubin, who drove the ill-fated car, and seized more than 90 kg of explosive materials.
A day after the blast near the Kottat Easwaran temple in the sensitive Ukkadam area on October 23 that revived the memories of the 1998 serial blasts in the Textile city, within few hours five people have been arrested by the Coimbatore police, which also arrested two more accused.
After the NIA took over the probe on the orders of the Union Home Ministry and on the recommendations of the Tamil Nadu government, two more were arrested, taking the number of arrests to nine before the NIA nabbed two more today, taking the tally to 11.
Since then the NIA has made significant progress in the investigation, NIA sources said.
