New Delhi: In a significant crackdown against ISIS sympathisers, the National Investigation Agency on Wednesday morning began raids at multiple locations across Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in two separate blast cases under investigation, sources said.

The searches are being carried out in connection with last year's explosions in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and Mangaluru, Karnataka, which took place on October 23, 2022, and November 19, 2022, respectively, sources in the elite anti-terror inquiry agency said. It is said, Simultaneous raids were conducted at about 50 locations across the three states, including Mannadi in Kerala and Kodungaiyur in Tamil Nadu.

The NIA launched an investigation into the bombing of a car carrying explosives in front of the Kottai Eswaran Temple in Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu on October 23, last year, on October 27.
The anti-terror agency had already detained eleven suspects in the case, about which Tamil Nadu Police had filed a report on October 23 of last year.

According to a statement from the NIA, Jamesha Mubeen, the deceased accused, had plans to carry out a suicide assault and inflict significant damage to the Temple Complex in order to terrorise the neighbourhood after swearing bayath (allegiance) to ISIS.

Investigations have shown that the accused individuals engaged in a criminal plot in February 2022 in the interior of the forest in the Asanoor and Kadambur parts of the Sathyamangalam forest, Erode district, the NIA said.

The statement said, "The meetings were organised by previously detained accused Umar Farook, with the participation of deceased accused Jamesha Mubeen, Mohammed Azharudin, Sheikh Hidayatullah, and Sanofar Ali, where they collaborated to plan and carry out terrorist activities.

The NIA took over the investigation into the pressure cooker explosion that occurred on November 19 in an autorickshaw in Mangaluru, where a passenger named Mohammed Shariq was carrying a pressure cooker device manufactured from an IED .

Mohammed Shariq, who was riding in the auto-rickshaw and had a pressure cooker that had been transformed into an IED, and the driver Purushottam Poojari both suffered injuries as a result of the explosion.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said, the cooker bomb was intended to launch a significant attack to heighten racial tensions in the state and coastal area. When the explosion occurred, Shariq was travelling to the planned location for the blast.

In accordance with the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the NIA began its investigation. The investigating authorities then questioned the primary suspect, Shariq, after the state police discovered his ties to the Islamic State (IS) during its inquiry. It also discovered that he radicalised Syed Yasin and Muneer Ahmed, his classmates, and introduced them to IS.

As per reports, the three of them tested and practised the explosion together on the banks of the Tunga river in the Shivamogga area, and the practise explosion appeared to be equally successful.

Further, source said, the main accused, Shariq, had a handler who was orchestrating and instructing him regarding all these activities. 

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