Coimbatore Blast Archives - Lokmarg

Coimbatore Car Blast Case: NIA Arrests 13th Accused

By LokMarg 1st September 2023

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested the 13th accused linked with the 2022 ISIS-inspired Coimbatore car bomb blast incident, the agency said on Friday.

Since the NIA re-registered the First Information Report (FIR) on October 27 last year, Mohammed Azarudeen alias Azar is the 13th person to be arrested in the case.

Interestingly, the NIA said, Azarudeen is already in Jail at the Viyyur high-security prison in Kerala’s Thrissur in another case.

As per the anti-terror agency, Azarudeen was arrested and chargesheeted earlier in the Tamil Nadu ISIS module case (RC-02/2019/NIA/KOC) and was subsequently sent to judicial custody.

“Investigations have revealed that Azarudeen had previously taken secret ‘bayan’ classes along with the accused in the Coimbatore blast case, including Jamesha Mubeen, the vehicle’s driver who was killed in the explosion. It was at these classes that all the accused were indoctrinated with ISIS ideology and motivated to commit violent acts of terror,” said the NIA.

Mangaluru Auto Blast Case To Be Handed Over To NIA

By LokMarg 21st November 2022

The Mangaluru autorickshaw blast is likely to be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), sources said on Monday.

The police have identified the accused as Sharik, who has been admitted to the Father Muller Hospital in Karnataka’s Mangaluru after he sustained 40-45 percent burn injuries due to a low-intensity blast that broke out in an autorickshaw in the Kankanadi police station area in the Mangaluru city at around 5 pm on Saturday.
The auto driver and the passenger sustained burn injuries and have been admitted to the hospital, the Commissioner of Police (CP) of Mangaluru City N Shashi Kumar said on November 19.

Notably, in a major breakthrough in the Mangaluru autorickshaw blast case on Sunday, Additional Director General of Police Alok Kumar visited the spot and said that the bomb was implanted with an aim to disrupt harmony in the area.

“There was an attempt to disrupt harmony in the area,” the senior police official said.

ADGP Kumar also informed that the blast was a low-intensity explosion.

“It was a low-intensity IED explosion. There was an attempt to disrupt harmony in the area, and it was averted. Right now we’ve no info to suggest this blast related to the Coimbatore blast,” he added. (ANI)

BJP Questions CM Stalin’s Silence Over Coimbatore Blast

By LokMarg 27th October 2022

Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party president K Annamalai on Thursday asked a couple of questions to Chief Minister MK Stalin in connection with the Coimbatore “suicide bombing” incident, and asked if he will remain in “silent mode”.

The incident took place on October 23 when an LPG cylinder inside a Maruti 800, Jameesha Mubin, the person who was charred to death, exploded near a temple around 4 am. Six persons have been arrested so far in connection with the case.

Questioning Stalin over the incident, Annamalai asked why was the state government “caught napping” when there was a “specific threat alert” flagged by the central agencies five days ahead of the blast.

“Two questions for @CMOTamilnadu 1. There was a specific threat alert given by central intelligence agencies to TN Govt on Oct 18th, 2022. This is five days before the ‘suicide bombing’ incident. Why was the state govt caught napping?” the BJP state chief tweeted.

The BJP leader further asked the reason behind stopping the monitoring of the activities of Mubin who he called a “suicide bomber”, as against the instructions to monitor his activities (after NIA’s Enquiry in 2019).

“When the TN state intelligence and Coimbatore police were asked to monitor the activities of the ‘suicide bomber’ & now deceased Mubin (after NIA’s Enquiry in 2019) and the local police were doing initially but stopped after a while. Why was it stopped after DMK came to power?” he tweeted.

He asked if it was done “because of political pressure”.

“Is it because of political pressure not to monitor ‘certain’ individuals? Will our CM care to answer, or as usual, will he be in ‘silent mode?” Annamalai tweeted.

Meanwhile, CM Stalin recommended an NIA probe into the incident following which the Centre ordered the NIA investigation. The agency registered an FIR into the case today.

Earlier today, Telangana Director general of police Sylendra Babu said that NIA will take over the case.

“As soon as it happened, officers rushed to the place & doused the fire. We identified the deceased and within a few days, we were able to unearth the truth. 6 people have been arrested & taken into custody. CM has recommended the case to NIA,” he said.

“Based on the orders of MHA, officers of NIA will work out the moralities. NIA has already registered a case and will take over. This has been discussed with the Commissioner as well,” the DGP added.

However, the officer refused to comment on the allegations levelled by Annamalai.

Tamil Nadu Police so far has arrested six people in connection with the case, and have invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

As per police Mubin, 25, who was 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. However, 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.

Since the explosion occurred in Ukkadam, a communally sensitive area, the state’s top police officers, including Director General of Police (DGP) Sylendra Babu and Additional DGP (law and order) 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. (ANI)

Accept It As Suicide Attack, Hand Over Probe To NIA: TN BJP Chief On Coimbatore Blast

By LokMarg 25th October 2022

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on Tuesday said that state police should accept as a “suicide attack,” the car explosion due to an LPG cylinder blast in Coimbatore, in which a man was charred to death.

He said the Tamil Nadu BJP has written to home minister Amit Shah seeking a transfer of the case to the National Investigation Agency.
Addressing a press conference here Annamalai said, “A day before Diwali, a car exploded in Coimbatore. Raids by NIA and arrests have shown that Coimbatore has become a den of terrorists. Police have recovered 50 kg of ammonium nitrate, potassium, sodium, fuse wire, and 7-volt batteries from the residence of Jamesha Mubin (who died in the accident). Police have not disclosed this till now.”

“On October 21, Jamesha Mubin posted a WhatsApp status similar to that of ISIS,” Annamalai said.

“Police haven’t said why they have arrested 5 people. On behalf of TN BJP, we’ve written a letter to Union Home Minister regarding this blast. Police have to accept this as a ‘suicide attack’,” the Tamil Nadu state BJP leader said.

Coimbatore City Police late on Monday night arrested five men after a man was burnt to death when the car he was in a gas cylinder fitted inside the car exploded at Ukkadam, near the famed Sangameshwarar temple in the city on Sunday morning.

The accused, identified as Mohammed Dhalha, Mohammed Azarudeen, Mohammed Riyas, Feroz Ismail, and Mohammed Navaz Ismail have been remanded to police custody.

The body of the deceased recovered from the blast site has been identified as 25-year-old Jamesha Mubin.

Tamil Nadu BJP leader alleged that Chief Minister MK Stalin should focus more on law and order to save Tamil people from violence and terrorist activities.

“Now people from a specific religion are part of Tamil Nadu Intelligence. This is a total intelligence failure. The Police have to accept that this is a ‘suicide attack’,” said Annamalai adding that in his letter to the NIA he has sought that the case is shifted to the NIA.

Meanwhile, security has been increased in Coimbatore with Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel deployed across the city to carry out search and security operations across public areas like bus stands and railway stations.

Visuals from the CCTV footage near the house showed five people purportedly taking out a gunny bag from Mubeen’s house on Saturday, police said

During a search at Mubin’s residence in the Kottaimedu area in Ukkadam, police said they recovered chemicals like potassium nitrate, aluminum, and sulfur, which are used to make crude bombs.

“We have also recovered nails and ball bearing from the spot where the explosion happened. We have identified the source of the cylinders and the car. This could not be a suicide attack,” said state Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu. (ANI)

Coimbatore Blast: RAF Deployed, 5 Arrested

By LokMarg 25th October 2022

Security has been increased in Coimbatore with Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel deployed across the city on Tuesday, following the incident in which a man was charred to death in a car explosion triggered by an LPG gas cylinder blast.

The RAF has been deployed to carry out search and security operations across public areas like bus stands and railway stations.
Coimbatore City Police late on Monday night arrested five men after a man was burnt to death when the car he was in a gas cylinder fitted inside the car exploded at Ukkadam, near the famed Sangameshwarar temple in the city on Sunday morning.

The accused identified as Mohammed Dhalha, Mohammed Azarudeen, Mohammed Riyas, Feroz Ismail, and Mohammed Navaz Ismail have been remanded to police custody.

The body of the deceased recovered from the blast site has been identified as 25-year-old James Mubin.

Visuals from the CCTV footage near the house showed five people purportedly taking out a gunny bag from Mubeen’s house on Saturday, police said

During a search at Mubin’s residence in the Kottaimedu area in Ukkadam, police said they recovered chemicals like potassium nitrate, aluminum, and sulfur, which are used to make crude bombs. “We have also recovered nails and ball bearing from the spot where the explosion happened. We have identified the source of the cylinders and the car. This could not be a suicide attack,” said state Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party President K Annamalai claimed that it was a terror attack with an ISIS link. He also questioned the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government for state intelligence failure for the blast.

Taking to Twitter, Annamalai said, “Coimbatore Cylinder blast is no more a ‘cylinder blast’. It’s a clear-cut terror act with ISIS links. Will CM Stalin come out in the open and accept this? TN Govt is hiding this info for 12 hours now. Is this not a clear failure of the state intelligence machinery and DMK Govt?”

He further claimed that terror elements were active in the state.

“The accused who died during the course of planning this attack had clear-cut links to ISIS and was handled from outside the country. Still, some of the elements are active in TN soil. Go mercilessly after these nodes. CM M.K.Stalin, pls come out of your hiding and own your failure,” he added. (ANI)