The National Investigation Agency has arrested Mohammed Azarudeen alias Azar in connection with the Coimbatore car blast case.
The central agency said Azar, lodged in the Viyyur High-Security Prison in Thrissur, Kerala, in another case, was also involved in the “ISIS-inspired car IED bomb blast of Coimbatore”. His earlier arrest was linked to the ISIS module in Tamil Nadu.
Investigation revealed that Azarudeen had previously taken secret classes along with other accused persons in the Coimbatore blast case, including the prime suspect Jamesha Mubeen, the cylinder-laden vehicle’s driver who was killed in the explosion.
It was at these classes that all the accused were indoctrinated to the ISIS ideology and motivated to commit violent acts of terror, the NIA said.
Before triggering the blast, Mubeen, along with two other accused persons in the case, had met Azarudeen in the prison. They had even planned attack on the prison to free Azar.
The Coimbatore car bomb blast took place on October 23 last year in front of an ancient Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil at Ukkadam.
The Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosives Device (VBIED) was driven by Mubeen who, along with his associates, was inspired by hardcore ISIS ideology to conspire and commit the act of terror, the NIA said in a statement.
The agency has so far filed two chargesheets in the case before the NIA Court, Poonamallee, Chennai.
