2022 Coimbatore suicide attack accused bought explosives from money earned by selling fake Covid vaccine certificates: NIA

NEW DELHI: In a unique instance of Covid pandemic being milked by terrorists, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charged the conspirators behind 2022 Coimbatore car blast, in which the suicide bomber was killed, with using earnings from selling fake Covid vaccine certificates in 2021-22 to procure materials, including explosives, for the attack.
NIA named five accused - Sheikh Hidayathullah, Umar Faaruq, Pavas Rahman, Sharan Mariappan and Aboo Hanifa - in the fourth supplementary chargesheet filed in the case on Thursday.
They were charged 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.
In its latest chargesheet, NIA filed a fresh set of charges of terror financing against Sheikh Hidayathullah and the attack's Amir, Umar Faaruq, both of whom had been chargesheeted earlier for other offences in the case.
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 - possibly arising from the need for Covid vaccination proof for air travel and other activities where social distancing may be compromised - was facilitated by accused Pavas Rahman and Sharan, while Aboo Hanifa had provided funds for generating fake certificates.
A total 17 accused have been chargesheeted in the case so far.
Jamesha Mubeen, the suicide bomber killed in the attack, had carried out the suicide bombing using a vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) in a modified Maruti car. As per NIA investigation, 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 NIA from Coimbatore in 2019 for promoting violent Salafi-Jihadi ideology.