NIA bid to join ED’s probe into 2022 Coimbatore blast sparks turf battle

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week attempted to insert itself in an Enforcement Directorate (ED) interrogation of key suspects in the 2022 Coimbatore bomb blast by an Islamic State-inspired module, a move which was turned down.

The October 23, 2022 vehicle-borne explosion outside the Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Thirukovil temple in Coimbatore killed only the suicide bomber, Jameesha Mubeen. The NIA, which is investigating the case since then, has arrested over a dozen individuals .

The ED in June filed a money laundering case in the case as it received information on the financing activities of the module involved. It approached a Chennai special court seeking to interrogate four accused persons including key masterminds, Umar Faaruq and Sheikh Hidayatullah. The duo is lodged in Tiruchirappalli central prison. The ED had sought to question two others-- Aboo Hanifa and Pavas Rahman, both lodged in Puzhal central jail.

ED informed the court that Hidayathullah and Faaruq orchestrated a fake Covid-19 vaccination certificate scam during 2021-22 to generate proceeds of crime for terror activities, which was facilitated by Pavas Rahman and another accused Sharan Mariappan (out on bail) while Aboo Hanifa routed the proceeds. Hidayathullah was allegedly in been touch with the April 21, 2019 Sri Lanka bombings mastermind Maulvi Zahran bin Hashim.

The funds were used for procuring explosive materials and other resources for the Coimbatore blast.

The financial crimes probe agency informed the court that the interrogation of the accused is necessary to “unearth the complete modus operandi and money trail”. It sought four days of questioning for Hidayattulah and Faaruq; and six days for Hanifa and Rahman.

NIA, which is the predicate offence agency in the case, while calling ED a ‘third party’, argued in the court that it has “no objection for the ED to interrogate and record the statements of the accused persons” provided that its chief investigating officer (CIO) along with his team is “given access to the interrogation session” so that any new facts disclosed during the course of investigation shall be used to analyze whether any fresh inputs emerge from NIA’s point of view as part of further investigation in this case. It further claimed that its presence won’t be detrimental to ED’s investigations.

While accepting ED’s plea, the court ruled in its order on September 10 that it was “not inclined to permit” NIA to join the ED interrogation.

A senior government official, who didn’t want to be named, said “Indian criminal procedure does not contain a provision which expressly authorises two independent investigation agencies to jointly interrogate an accused, especially when they have separate first information reports (FIRs). It can only happen either through a court order or orders are issued officially by the state or central government a joint team, special investigation team (SIT), etc, which is not there so far in the Coimbatore blast probe”.

“We have seen this happen unofficially so many times,” he added.

A second official said, “the NIA could have always asked ED later to share its interrogation details unofficially”.

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  Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More