Coimbatore blast: Tamil Nadu police invokes UAPA, arrests five

Coimbatore Commissioner of Police V Balakrishnan said the case was being investigated from 'all angles'

Two days after an LPG cylinder exploded inside a car in Coimbatore, the Tamil Nadu Police, on Tuesday, arrested five persons—under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)—for their alleged links with the 25-year-old “self-radicalised” man who died in the explosion.

The arrested have been identified as Mohammad Asarudheen (25), Mohammad Riyaz (27), Mohammad Thalka (25), Mohammad Navaz Ismail (27) and Feroz Ismail (27). While Thalka and Asarudheen are from Ukkadam, a communally sensitive locality in Coimbatore, others are from GM Nagar in the city.

On Sunday morning, the LPG cylinder in a car that Jameesha Mubin was driving exploded near a temple in Ukkadam, killing him instantly.

Coimbatore Commissioner of Police V Balakrishnan said on Tuesday that provisions of UAPA were invoked against the above-mentioned five persons, who were arrested after a day-long interrogation. Sources said Explosive Substances Act has also been invoked and added that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) can take over the investigation suo motu.

Balakrishnan said the police were investigating the case from “all angles”. Briefing reporters about the case, the top police officer said the accused admitted that they knew Mubin and had helped him load two LPG cylinders and other materials inside the car on Saturday night.

Riyaz, Navaz Ismail and Ismail had assisted Mubin in transporting the items, as seen in a CCTV footage that helped police nab the accused.

Balakrishnan said that apart from the two cylinders—one of which exploded leading to Mubin’s death—there were three drums inside the car. “A detailed forensic analysis of the vehicle and materials found in it is being conducted,” the officer said.

After the blast, chemicals such as black powder, potassium nitrate, aluminium powder, charcoal, and sulphur were recovered from Mubin’s residence.

The commissioner’s statement came as Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party chief K Annamalai alleged that Sunday’s incident was a fallout of the intelligence failure of the police and demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The top officer also said that Mubin and some of the arrested persons had been questioned by the NIA in connection with the 2019 Easter bombings. “Some of the accused have admitted that they visited Kerala recently, but we are still investigating the details,” the commissioner said.

The police officer told the media that volumes of CCTV footage from places close to Mubin’s residence were being examined as a part of the investigation into the blast. A senior police officer said Mubin was “self-radicalised” and did not belong to any organisation.

Though there was no concrete evidence to suggest that Mubin was planning an attack on Sunday, Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu inferred that Mubin could have been planning an attack in the future given the nature of the materials recovered from his residence.

The suspicion that the blast could have a terror angle also arose from the fact that it occurred near a temple on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, Annamalai termed the incident as a “suicide attack” and blamed the police for not revealing details about the deceased and his plans. He also alleged that Mubin had spoken about his death in a status update on his WhatsApp hours before the explosion.

The incident came just weeks after an alert was sounded across the country following a ban on Popular Front of India (PFI). Coimbatore has always been communally sensitive especially after the 1998 blasts killed 58 people in which BJP leader L K Advani had a miraculous escape.