Two youths — Abdul Rahman alias Abdullah, aged 26 and Ismath, aged 22 — were arrested for their alleged involvement in planting a bomb in a culvert at Alampatti near Madurai, which was on the route of Advani’s Yatra. The BJP leader had to take a detour due to this bomb scare.
Top police sources told Deccan Herald late on Tuesday night that this was a big breakthrough in the case.
Fortunately the bomb was detected and defused by the Madurai police, posing no threat to the BJP leader’s anti-corruption yatra, after two locals of the village reported the suspicious object to the police.
One of the villagers was a local AIADMK councillor. Both were rewarded by Jayalalitha on Monday.
Police sources said based on the confession statements of the two arrested youth, police have seized an auto-rickshaw and a motorcycle used in the crime. Further investigations are on with the ADGP Crime Branch CID, R Sekar, himself leading the investigation camping at Madurai, according to sources.
It is still not known whether the two accused have any links with the banned Muslim fundamentalist organisation, Al-Umma, which had also targeted Advani during a poll rally in Coimbatore in February 1998, triggering multiple bomb explosions then.
The BJP leader had a providential escape then as well because his convoy was delayed in reaching Coimbatore that day from Chennai.
Police on Sunday had also zeroed in on a person in Kanyakumari district further down south who was said to be in possession of this explosive substance.
At this stage, the details are still sketchy as police are grilling both the accused.