NIA widens Coimbatore ISIS radicalisation case

The National Investigation Agency has expanded its prosecution in the Tamil Nadu ISIS radicalisation and recruitment case by filing a supplementary chargesheet against seven individuals and an educational body based in Coimbatore, alleging systematic indoctrination of vulnerable youth through online and offline Arabic language classes.

- HD Bureau

The move strengthens the agency’s caselinked to the October 22, 2022, Coimbatore car bomb blast, an attack that brought national focus to clandestine extremist networks operating under the cover of educational activity.

The supplementary chargesheet names Mohammed Hussain, Irshath, Ahmed Ali, Aboo Hanifa, Jawahar Sadiq, Sheik Dawood and Raja Mohammed, all described as former students associated with cleric Jameel Basha.

It also lists the Kovai Arabic Educational Association, under which the Kovai Arabic College functioned, as an accused entity. Investigators allege that the association and its college played a central role in disseminating radical ideology aligned with ISIS, both through structured classroom teaching and coordinated online sessions.