ED raids 16 places in 3 states in terror funding case linked to 2022 Coimbatore bomb blast case

The agency's search operation has been underway since early morning. ED's Chennai zonal office conducted searches at these locations across Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad in Telangana and Mumbai in Maharashtra, covering the places linked to suspects having connections in the case.

The ED investigation was initiated on basis of various First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), in connection with the suicide bomb explosion that occurred in 2022 near Sangameshwarar Temple in Coimbatore. The attack was carried out by Jamesha Mubeen (suicide bomber) and others as an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack using a modified Maruti car loaded with explosive substances.

"To fund their terror activities, the accused carried out two prominent methods firstly they run a fake Covid-19 vaccine certificate scam during Covid period, where funds were generated from people who wanted fake vaccine certificate without actual vaccination. Secondly through donations and fraudulent investments in Kovai Arabic College which was deeply involved in radicalisation of youths," officials, privy to the development, told ANI.

Investigation further revealed that 12 accused persons in the bomb blast case, including Mubeen, had attended sessions of Kovai Arabic College through online or offline modes. They were mentored by one Jameel Basha, promoter of Kovai Arabic College, after which they got indoctrinated in Salafi-Jihadi ideology and conspired to commit the terror attack in support of the proscribed terror organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

In April 2025, the NIA had filed its fourth supplementary chargesheet naming five more persons in the ISIS-inspired Coimbatore car bomb explosion case, in which the suicide bomber who perpetrated the blast was killed. In the chargesheet in the case (RC-01/2022/NIA/CHE), the NIA charged Sheikh Hidayathullah, Umar Faaruq, Pavas Rahman, Sharan Mariappan and Aboo Hanifa for their involvement in terror financing and other activities linked with the terror attack that had targeted a Hindu temple, Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil, in Coimbatore in October 2022. With the chargesheet, a total of 17 accused were chargesheeted till then in the case.

In the NIA chargesheet, the anti-terror agency had filed a fresh set of charges for terror financing against Sheikh Hidayathullah and the attack's Amir, Umar Faaruq. The two accused had orchestrated a fake COVID vaccine certificate scam in 2021-2022, using the funds earned from the scam to procure materials for explosives and other resources for the car bomb attack. The scam was facilitated by accused Pavas Rahman and Sharan, while Aboo Hanifa had provided funds for generating fake certificates.

As per the NIA investigation, Mubeen had carried out the suicide bombing using a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) in a modified Maruti car. He had died in the incident, and charges against him were thus abated. NIA has said that Mubeen had pledged allegiance to ISIS's self-proclaimed Caliph, Abu-Al-Hasan Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi, and aimed to target non-believers as part of his extremist ideology. NIA investigations further revealed that prior to the attack, the accused had held meetings at the Viyyur High-Security Prison and Sathyamangalam Reserve Forest to plan the conspiracy. Their objective was to avenge the imprisonment of their leader, Mohammed Azharuddin, who had been arrested by the NIA from Coimbatore in 2019 for promoting violent Salafi-Jihadi ideology. (ANI)