Chennai: On October 23, 2022, a Maruti 800 car exploded which was driven by Jameesha Mubin in which an LPG cylinder was present and it exploded in the Ukkadam area near a temple in Coimbatore around 4 am. The explosion happened while Jameesha Mubin was moving past a temple in the car in Tamil Nadu’s western textile city and he had allegedly tried to evade a police check post.
A case was registered and the Tamil Nadu Police so far has arrested six people in connection with the case, and have invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Those arrested by the police are learnt to be associates of Jameesha Mubin, who was charred to death in suspicious circumstances in a Maruti 800 car that exploded. The state police is currently investigating the matter. In 1998, Coimbatore witnessed bomb blasts.
According to police, Mubin, 25, an engineering graduate, has been previously questioned by the NIA in 2019 for alleged terror links. His name is mentioned as the primary accused in the case. Five people arrested on Monday night were Mohammad Thalka, 25, Mohammad Asarudheen, 25, Muhammad Riyaz, 27, Feroz Ismail, 27, and Mohammad Navaz Ismail, 27.
The sixth person, identified as Afsar Khan, a relative of the deceased, was arrested earlier on Thursday. Khan is the cousin of the deceased. He was picked two days before by the special investigation team.
On Wednesday noon, Police officials also conducted searches on Khan’s residence and took his laptop. On October 23, 75-kg explosives were seized in Coimbatore from the residence of the man who was killed after a gas cylinder exploded.
Since the explosion occurred in Ukkadam, a communally sensitive area, the state’s top police officers, including Director General of Police (DGP) Mr. Sylendra Babu and Additional DGP (law and order) Mr. Thamarai Kannan, rushed to the spot. The DGP on Sunday said the police found materials used to make explosives in Mubin’s house in Ukkadam. They seized 75 kgs of potassium nitrate, charcoal, aluminium powder and sulphur which can be used to make explosives.
The DGP on Sunday said the police found materials used to make explosives in Mubin’s house in Ukkadam. They seized 75 kgs of potassium nitrate, charcoal, aluminium powder and sulphur which can be used to make explosives.
A probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the Coimbatore explosion case would be recommended to the Centre, the Tamil Nadu government said here on Wednesday.
Quoting Stalin’s directives to officials in the meeting, the government said it was decided to recommend to the Centre to entrust the case to the NIA.
“The move is considering the possibilities of links transcending Tamil Nadu borders and the likelihood of international connections emerging during the investigation of the explosion case,” an official release here said.
The Counter-Terrorism and Counter Radicalization (CTCR) division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued the order a day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin recommended an NIA probe in the case. A top government official said that the “NIA will take over the case very soon”. Stalin, in a recommendation letter, to the MHA had requested on Wednesday to transfer the investigation of the case related to the car cylinder explosion in the Ukkadam area in Coimbatore to the NIA and directed police to ensure security in Coimbatore. Stalin’s recommendation followed a detailed review meeting held on Wednesday at the Head Office under the leadership of the Chief Minister regarding the ongoing investigation of the case.
The Central government on Thursday ordered a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the October 23, 2022, Coimbatore LPG cylinder explosion in a car, considering the possibility of cross-state developments and the role of international elements in the investigation.
The state government also announced raising a special police force to foil sabotage and bolster its intelligence wing.
In a high-level meeting chaired by chief minister M.K. Stalin at the Secretariat, the present status of the investigation related to the explosion was taken up and it was decided to set up a special force to prevent similar incidents.
As part of measures to further strengthen security, the government said it would set up new police stations at the three localities of Karumbu Kadai, Sundarapuram and Koundampalayam in Coimbatore.
During the review of the overall law and order and security scenario, the government decided to install additional high-tech surveillance cameras in key cities of the state, including Coimbatore.
Stalin directed officials to post additional personnel in the intelligence wing and protect and encourage informers.
Chief Secretary Mr. V.Irai Anbu, Director General of Police Mr. C. Sylendra Babu IPS and top state and intelligence officials took part in the high-level meeting.
