The National Investigation Agency on Friday filed a supplementary chargesheet against seven people and the Kovai Arabic Educational Association in a 2023 case linked to the alleged radicalisation of youth for terror activities under the cover of free Arabic classes.
The NIA said the case is connected to its probe into the October 2022 Coimbatore car blast. Earlier, the agency had filed a chargesheet against four accused, including Jameel Basha, the principal of Madras Arabic College. According to the NIA, 14 of the 18 accused in the Coimbatore blast case were students of Kovai Arabic College, which was run under the Kovai Arabic Educational Association.
The agency said the case was registered suo motu by its Chennai branch in August 2023. It relates to the alleged radicalisation and incitement of young people into terrorist activities by a group inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, using free Arabic language classes as a front.
The NIA stated that its investigation found that radical sermons were spread through online Arabic classes held on platforms such as Zoom, WhatsApp and Telegram. It also said that similar content was shared during regular classroom sessions, where live or recorded lectures of Jameel Basha were played.
The seven accused named in the supplementary chargesheet are identified as Mohammed Hussain, Irshath, Ahmed Ali, Aboo Hanifa, Jawahar Sadiq, Sheik Dawood and Raja Mohammed. All of them were students of Jameel Basha. The agency said Mohammed Hussain and Irshath were already named in the earlier chargesheet and now face additional charges.
The NIA also said that the Kovai Arabic Educational Association has been charged as a legal entity in the case. It added that the investigation is still ongoing as part of its efforts to break what it described as a terror radicalisation network.
