The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is stepping up action to freeze assets linked to an Arabic college in Coimbatore and individuals accused of financing terrorists, according to officials.
The move follows the October 23, 2022 car bomb blast near the Kottai Eswaran temple in Ukkadam, Coimbatore, in which IS operative Jamesha Mubin (28) died. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigated the case and arrested 14 associates.
Based on allegations of illegal money transfers connected to the network, the ED registered a case and has been conducting inquiries. Searches were carried out at 15 locations including Chennai, Coimbatore and Mumbai, during which key documents were seized.
ED officials said Mohammed Azharudeen (27), from Ukkadam, had functioned as the Tamil Nadu head of the IS outfit and was in close contact with Zahran Hashim (34), who died in the 2019 Sri Lanka church bombings. They alleged that Zahran visited Coimbatore and handed over Rs 10 lakh to promote terrorism in Tamil Nadu.
After Azharudeen was arrested by the NIA in Kerala, the funding pipeline to Jamesha Mubin and others was disrupted, officials said. They further alleged that a Chennai-based man, Jameel Basha (45), ran the Arabic college at Kuniyamuthur as a hub and raised several lakhs in the name of “college development funds”, with Taha Naseer (40) playing a key role in collections. A diary seized from his house reportedly listed donors from Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai’s Mannady area; officials said a list has been prepared and steps are under way to freeze the college’s and donors’ assets.
