NE NEWS SERVICE
COIMBATORE, OCT 30
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday officially commenced the probe into a cylinder explosion in a car in which one person was killed in front of a temple in the city on October 23.
Led by NIA SP Srijith, a team of NIA officials went to the blast site and inspected the area in the vicinity of the temple, and to collect further evidence, police said.
They inquired about the incident with the priest of the Kottai Eswaran Temple, Sundareshan, police said.
The team has plans to visit the house of Jamesha Mubin, the victim of the explosion, a few metres away from the spot.
The Coimbatore City Police who have investigated the case handed over to NIA all the evidence and documents with regard to the explosion on Saturday, days after the Tamil Nadu government decided to hand over the probe to the premier investigation agency that probes terror-related matters.
An office space has been allotted to NIA on the premises of Armed Reserve at the Police Recruits School on Avanashi Road temporarily. There are seven officials led by an Inspector as the investigating officer, police said.
More than 10 police personnel were provided to assist the NIA in the investigation, they added.
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An early morning cylinder explosion in the car at the communally sensitive Ukkadam area had sent shock waves here and across the state, with Tamil Nadu Governor R.N.Ravi describing it as an attempt to unleash terror act.
The police, as part of its probe earlier, had recovered 75 kg of low-intensity explosive material that goes into the making of country bombs, even as six persons have been arrested so far in connection with the explosion.
BJP postpones tomorrow’s bandh
The Tamil Nadu unit of BJP on Saturday postponed a proposed bandh on Monday, October 31 in Coimbatore to protest against the car explosion in front of a temple in the city on the eve of Deepavali.
The postponement of the bandh comes following the National Investigation Agency (NIA) taking over the case from the Tamil Nadu police, as ordered by the Centre, Coimbatore BJP District President Utthama Ramasamy said in a release here.
Besides, various trade bodies had requested state BJP chief K Annamalai to reconsider the decision and not to go ahead with the bandh as the closure of shops and commercial establishments will have serious impact on the business, he claimed.
Annamalai had also held discussions with senior BJP leaders in the state, including C P Radhakrishnan and city MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, regarding the issue.
Based on the discussion, the district BJP has decided not to go ahead with the bandh and postponed it temporarily, Ramasamy said.
