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Coimbatore blast: NIA takes over probe, 6th accused arrested
The NIA on Thursday took over the probe into the October 23 Coimbatore blast, in which one person was killed, as Tamil Nadu police made its sixth arrest in the case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday took over the probe into the October 23 Coimbatore blast, in which one person was killed, as Tamil Nadu police made its sixth arrest in the case.
The ministry of home affairs issued a notification for a NIA probe following a recommendation by chief minister MK Stalin, amid concerns that the incident may have ramifications beyond the boundaries of the state and international connections, according to people familiar with the matter.
Jameesha Mubin, who was questioned by NIA in 2019 for alleged terror links, was charred to death in suspicious circumstances after an LPG cylinder inside a vehicle he was driving exploded near Kottai Eswaran temple in Ukkadam around 4am on Sunday morning, a day before Diwali. The incident took place around 200 metres from a police patrol.
Five people were arrested on Monday night and a sixth person was arrested on Thursday. The deceased was registered as the prime accused in the blast. The state police also invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the case.
A deputy inspector general rank NIA officer has been sent to Tamil Nadu to probe the case, a senior officer said.
“We will examine our old interrogation reports pertaining to Islamic State cases to find out about the known contacts and associates, both in India and abroad, of Mubin and other accused persons,” the officer said, seeking anonymity.
Coimbatore city commissioner K Balakrishnan on Tuesday told reporters it was a “joint conspiracy”. A senior state police officer investigating the blast earlier said that Mubin and the five arrested men were in contact with Mohammad Azharuddin from Ukkadam, who is currently in jail for the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka in 2019.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu director general of police (DGP) Sylendra Babu said the sixth arrest was made on Thursday. The arrested person was identified as Afsar Khan (28) and is Mubin’s relative, police said.
“So far, we have arrested six accused in the case. Five of those whom we had arrested earlier are in police custody,” he said.
“We have gathered a lot of evidence after questioning those five men. NIA officials are here and we held a meeting with them. They will take over the case and Tamil Nadu police will give them the required help. We will also hand over the evidence collected so far,” he added.
In 2018, the NIA had begun an investigation into an ISIS module headed by Azharuddin in Coimbatore. Based on its findings, Indian agencies sent three alerts to Sri Lanka security agencies about a possible plan to carry out a major strike there.
After the Sri Lanka bombings killed over 250 people, the NIA registered a suo-motu case against six people from Coimbatore.
During the course of the probe, the NIA learnt that Azharuddin and his associate, Sheikh Hidayatulla, were in touch with bombings mastermind Maulvi Zahran bin Hashim and were planning to carry out similar strikes in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
As first reported by HT earlier, Hashim and Mohammad Azaan, one of the suicide bombers in the Sri Lanka attacks, had visited India in 2017 and 2018 to discuss the plans of Islamic State.
