CHENNAI: Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths on Thursday started searches in 16 places in Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Mumbai in connection with the 2022 Coimbatore car bomb blast case. The searches are part of ED’s efforts to trace the source of funds received by the accused to carry out the terror attack.Car driver Jameesha Mubeen died in the blast that took place in front of the Sangameshwarar Temple in Coimbatore on Oct 23, 2022. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case and has so far chargesheeted 17 people in the case. NIA has also registered a separate case in connection with radicalisation of youth through sermons in Coimbatore and Chennai Arabic colleges to embrace khilafat ideology and carry out terror attacks. ED recently took over the investigation to probe the source of funding for radicalisation and terror activities. ED sources said that the group were funded in two ways — one through the fake Covid vaccination drive to generate duplicate vaccination certificates to generate funds in connivance with some doctors and secondly through donations received by the Arabic colleges. “All the accused in the car bomb blast case were trained in these colleges, and the proceeds of the crimes were also used to procure equipment to carry out the bomb blast,” said an ED source.The Enforcement Directorate, which wants to identify those who funded the terror activities, was carrying out searches on the premises of suspects on Thursday. However, it did not disclose the locations and added that the searches might continue on Friday.
