Eight arrested by NIA in 2019 over ISIS links detained for questioning in Coimbatore blast

Eight associates of Coimbatore resident Md Azharuddin, who were arrested in 2019 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on inputs from the Intelligence Bureau for Islamic State (ISIS) links after the Sri Lanka Easter bombings, were picked up for questioning, officials said.

(Credit: News 18)

They are Umar Farooq, Rajak, Qibla Bashir, Saddam Hussain (three of them in the same name), brother-in-law of criminal Kichan Buhari, and Sanofar. Umar Farooq has formatted his phone, sources said.

Mubin was not questioned during Azhar’s interrogation, they added, but he is a remnant of the Azharuddin module.

Officials said CCTV footage of the loading of cylinders by Mubin was found and enquiries are on to identify his associates.

There was an explosion at about 4 am in a Maruti car just opposite the Kottai Eswaran temple in the Ukkadam area of Coimbatore. Two gas cylinders, marbles, and nails were found.

One person in the car was dead; officials said he’s believed to be circumcised.

The asbestos sheet in front of the temple was damaged and no one else was injured.

Later, Mubin was identified as the person responsible for this blast.

In CCTV footage, he was seen loading cylinders, and he is a scrap dealer.