Coimbatore Car Blast: 5 Arrested Under UAPA, 25 Others on Radar; NIA Likely to Take Over Case

The Tamil Nadu Police has arrested five people in connection with the Coimbatore car blast case in which one person was killed, officials said on Tuesday, adding that the case, that is suspected to be an act of terror, is likely to be taken over by National Investigation Agency (NIA).

An explosion took place at 4 am on Sunday near the famous Eeswaran temple in Coimbatore’s Ukkadam, killing a 25-year-old man named Jameesha Mubin. In another reported development, it has been found Mubin was questioned by the NIA in 2019 for his ties to a radical network.

Coimbatore Commissioner of Police said that Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act provisions have been invoked against five arrested persons.

The Coimbatore cylinder blast case took a sensational turn on Sunday after Tamil Nadu Police ruled out the possibility of a suicide attack while claiming to have identified the person who was charred to death in an alleged explosion of an LPG cylinder fitted to a car.

Divulging the case details, Sylendra Babu, Tamil Nadu DGP, said that the person who was charred to death has been identified as Jameza Mubin. He also said that police had conducted searches of Mubin’s residence in the Kottaimedu area in Ukkadam and recovered chemicals like Potassium nitrate, aluminum, and sulfur, which are used to make crude bombs.

BJP minister K Annamalai alleged that the blast was a ‘clear cut terror act with ISIS links’ and it was kept hidden by the DMK government, from the public for more than 12 hours.

Know the latest in Coimbatore blast case:

• 5 Arrested, 25 Others Under Scanner

The Tamil Nadu Police has arrested five people in connection with the cylinder blast. The arrested have been identified as Mohammed Talka, Mohammed Azharuddin, Mohamed Navas Ismail, Mohammed Riyas and Firoze Ismail. Top intelligence sources said 25 more people are under radar and will be questioned.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu Police investigation team, which is probing the case, told IANS that the probe has been extended to Kerala, IANS reported. The probe team said that Mubin had been to Viyyur central jail in Kerala and had met Mohammed Azharuddin, an accused in a terror related case.

A team of senior officers of the Tamil Nadu Police was in Kerala for further investigation and met Azharuddin and questioned him in connection with the blast.

Tamil Nadu Director General of Police C. Sylendra Babu met the investigation team led by Additional Director General of Police, Thamarakannu at Coimbatore on Monday and discussed the progress of the case.

Ukkadam, the place where the blast took place, is a highly sensitive area of Coimbatore and was the centre of action in the 1996 Coimbatore blasts leading to the death of 56 people and injuring more than 200.

Mohammed Talka, who has been arrested in the case, is the son of Navas Khan, who is the brother of the main accused in the Coimbatore blasts. Police said that after the recovery of nails and marbles from the accident site, it was suspected that the deceased was planning to make a low intensity device. The raids at the residence of the deceased found potassium nitrate and sulphur and this led to further investigation and probe on the involvement of other people in the conspiracy. After questioning, the police have arrested five men.

Tamil Nadu Police officers told news agency IANS that the probe was likely to be taken over by the NIA.

• Man who died in blast was on NIA’s radar: Report

The 25-year-old man who was killed in the car explosion was questioned by the NIA in 2019 for his ties to a radical network related to Zahran Hashim, the mastermind of the Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka, Indian Express reported.

Mubin was “examined” by NIA in 2019, Indian Express cited source on this information. “He was one among the five people we had to examine in 2019 since he had been attending Bayan classes at a Coimbatore mosque of the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ),” the source was quoted as saying.

These classes were closely related to Mohammed Azarudeen, who had direct contact with Zahran Hashim, the mastermind and the leader of the suicide bombers in Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka,” the source added.

The NIA reportedly suspects a planning of a terror strike similar to Sri Lanka’s Easter bombings in South India.

The Tamil Nadu Police officers, who have conducted a detailed probe, have also found that Jashmee Mubin had tried to establish contacts with some terror elements, including the main conspirator behind the Easter Day bombing in Sri Lanka, IANS reported.

However, sources in Tamil Nadu Police told IANS that this conspiracy angle was not confirmed. The sources said that the presence of Al Uma founder SA Bashas’ brother Navas Khan’s son, Mohamed Talik, has given a clear indication that a major conspiracy angle was behind the car blast. The police are investigating whether the car blast was a direct suicide attack or whether the gas cylinder explosion was accidental.

• Rapid Action Force Deployed Across Coimbatore

Rapid Action Force (RAF) was seen deployed across the city of Coimbatore on Tuesday in view of suspected terror links in the case.

Meanwhile, opposition parties, AIADMK and BJP, have come out strongly against the failure of the state police over the incident. AIADMK interim general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said that whenever the DMK assumes power in the state such things happen, and charged that the law and order situation in the state has hit a new low.

BJP leader and state president K.Annamalai has come out strongly against the DMK government and state police and demanded an NIA probe.

Was Suspect Planning SL Easter Bombing-Like Attack in South India?

The NIA suspects a planning of a terror strike similar to Sri Lanka’s Easter bombings in South India.

The Tamil Nadu Police officers, who have conducted a detailed probe, has also found that Jashmee Mubin had tried to establish contacts with some terror elements, including the main conspirator behind the Easter Day bombing in Sri Lanka. Jashmee Mubin was killed in the car blast that happened on October 23.

However, sources in Tamil Nadu Police told IANS that this conspiracy angle was not confirmed. The sources said that the presence of Al Uma founder S.A. Bashas’ brother Navas Khan’s son, Mohamed Talik, has given a clear indication that a major conspiracy angle was behind the car blast. The police are investigating whether the car blast was a direct suicide attack or whether the gas cylinder explosion was accidental.

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