NIA Conducts Multiple Raids In Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka In Two Separate Blast Cases

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted multiple raids in three southern states which are Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. These searches comes in conenction with the Coimbatore car cylinder blast case and Karnataka's Mangaluru which occurred on October 23, 2022, and November 19, 2022, respectively.

The searches began at 6 am at over 60 locations out of which 40 are in Tamil Nadu while nearly five dozen locations across the three states were raided simultaneously. The people having links with terror organisations are under NIA's scanner. 

Coimbatore Car Blast Case

On October 23, Jamesha Mubin, who was sitting inside a car was charred to death when the gas cylinder fitted in the vehicle apparently exploded and the fire engulfed it in the Ukkadam area.  The explosion happened while he was moving past a temple in the car and he had tried to evade a police check post. According to preliminary investigation, the accused Mubin, owing allegiance to the ISIS terrorist group, was planning to carry out a suicide attack and cause extensive damage to symbols and monuments of a particular religious faith and with the intention to strike terror among a particular section of the community.

The case was initially registered at Ukkadam police station in Coimbatore and re-registered by the NIA on October 27 following directions from the Union Home Ministry.

On the day of the blast, 75 kg of explosives, including potassium nitrate, were seized from the residence of 29-year-old Mubin who was killed after a gas cylinder exploded in a car he was travelling in. It is suspected that explosives were also put in the car when it exploded.

During the searches conducted, digital devices and incriminating documents were seized from the houses of the suspects. Six accused persons have been arrested in this case so far. The accused persons had conspired with the deceased, Jamesha Mubin, to procure different chemicals and other ingredients for the fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices, including a Vehicle borne IED, from online shopping platforms to commit sensational terrorist acts.

Mangaluru Blast Case

On November 19,  Karnataka's Mangaluru was put on high alert after a cooker blast was reported inside a moving auto-rickshaw in the city. The prime accused Mohammed Shariq received 45% burns in the incident and was later admitted to a hospital. The very next day, the Forensic Science Laboratory Division (FSLD) searched his house and recovered materials used to make explosives. A little-known terror outfit, the Islamic Resistance Council (IRC) later owned responsibility for the blast and warned of another attack on their darknet.