TN government recommends transfer of Coimbatore blast case to NIA

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday decided to recommend the transfer of the Coimbatore LPG cylinder blast case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The case pertains to a cylinder blast inside a car in which theoccupant, a 25-year-old engineering graduate, was killed instantly.

The decision by the state government was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday morning, which was attended by Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu, Home Secretary K Phanindra Reddy, Director General of Police (DGP) C Sylendra Babu, and ADGP (Intelligence) Davidson Devasirvatham among others.

“Keeping in mind the possible national and international ramifications, the meeting decided to recommend to the Union Government to direct the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over investigation in the case,” an official statement from the government said.

The meeting came a day after the Coimbatore Police invoked provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against five persons, who were arrested for their links with Jameesha Mubin, who was killed as an LPG cylinder inside the car which he was driving exploded near a temple in communally sensitive Ukkadam in Coimbatore on Sunday morning.

The arrested -- Mohammad Asarudheen (25), Mohammad Riyaz (27), Mohammad Thalka (25), Mohammad Navaz Ismail (27) and Feroz Ismail (27) – helped Mubin to transport explosives and LPG cylinders in his car. In the past three days, police have recovered nearly 75 kg of explosive materials from the residences of Mubin and others like black powder, potassium nitrate, aluminium powder, charcoal, and sulphur.

Also Read | Coimbatore LPG blast: Police refuse to rule out 'terror' angle, question nine persons

Wednesday’s meeting also decided to take a slew of steps like constitution of a special force to prevent such incidents and setting up modern surveillance cameras in big cities like Chennai and Coimbatore and in densely populated areas. “The meeting also decided to appoint more officers to the intelligence department and to provide security to people who give inputs about people who indulge in anti-social activities,” the statement added. The government also decided to set up three new police stations in Karumbu Kadai, Koundampalayam, and Sundarapuram areas in Coimbatore for greater surveillance.

Briefing reporters about the case on Tuesday, V Balakrishnan, Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore said the accused have admitted that they knew Mubin and helped him load two LPG cylinders and other materials inside the car on Saturday night. Riyaz, Navaz Ismail, and Feroze were the three who assisted Mubin in transporting the items as seen in a CCTV footage that helped police nab the accused.

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

Though there is no concrete evidence to suggest that Mubin was planning an attack on Sunday, Director General of Police (DGP) C Sylendra Babu has 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.

The incident also comes 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.