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DGP to be blamed over Coimbatore blast: BJP
Annamalai said the DGP and police force have no rights to tell a political party not to raise questions. Tamil Nadu police had on Saturday released a statement asking Annamalai, a former Karnataka IPS officer, not to defame the state police force
Chennai: Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Sunday said the state director general of police and an intelligence officer have to take blame for the Coimbatore blast, alleging that the police failed to keep track of the victim of the blast, who he claimed was an ISIS sympathiser.
Responding to the statement that he is defaming the state police force, Annamalai took to Twitter to post a 9-page rebuttal and screenshots of a “secret report” and WhatsApp status of Jameesha Mubin, who died on the spot in the October 23 incident when one of the two LPG cylinders exploded inside the Maruthi 800 he was driving.
Annamalai questioned why the Tamil Nadu police did not put under its surveillance Mubin despite inputs from a special unit as early as July this year. He said Mubin was among a list of 96 names put out by a special unit of police. “Mubin’s name figured in the list as 89th person and there was enough evidence to show that he was radicalised towards ISIS ideology. But there was no action by the police though the information was given in July,” the BJP leader said.
“A report submitted by a Special Unit of the Tamil Nadu police after the incident termed Jameesha Mubin, the occupant of the vehicle, as a suicide bomber. Will the police deny this information?” Annamalai asked. “Will the police also deny that Mubin had posted a status message which talked about his imminent death?”
Annamalai blamed DGP Sylendra Babu and ADGP (Intelligence) Davidson Devasirvatham for intelligence failure related to the blast. “The 1998 Coimbatore blast (which killed 58 people) was an intelligence failure and the 2022 blast is also an intelligence failure and I blamed the DGP and ADGP for this. The DGP should have shown the same interest that he shows in cycling in policing as well,” he said.
Annamalai said the DGP and police force have no rights to tell a political party not to raise questions. Tamil Nadu police had on Saturday released a statement asking Annamalai, a former Karnataka IPS officer, not to defame the state police force.
The statement had accused Annamalai of giving false information on intelligence inputs from the Centre and trying to divert the probe by speaking in detail about the incident.
“There is no specific mention of Coimbatore anywhere in the alert. He (Annamalai) is trying to create a false impression that the police did not act on specific information about the incident,” the police said on Saturday. “The police would have arrested the suspects and recovered explosives immediately if there was a specific alert about a blast in Coimbatore as Annamalai claims.”
Tamil Nadu police have invoked Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against six accused who helped Mubin. “During investigation, the officer concerned sends a detailed report to the state government, which in turn informs the Union government. Based on the nature or magnitude of the case, the Union Government will order an inquiry by the NIA within 15 days,” the police said. “In the Coimbatore case, the procedure was followed thoroughly and without any delay. The state government recommended a probe by the NIA. In some important cases, the Union Home Ministry will suo motu transfer the case to NIA. But in the case of the Coimbatore incident, the state government recommended the transfer of the case to NIA even before the Union government released an order.”
