NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI/COIMBATORE, OCT 28
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Friday attributed the car explosion here on the eve of Deepavali to an attempt to unleash a major terror attack. “The explosives found later and IED-making chemicals and what goes into them were enough to suggest that they had planned a series of attacks,” Ravi said.
He said this while addressing a function at the JSS Institute of Naturopathy and Yogic Science and Hospitals near here.
- Governor says authorities must not go soft on terrorists
- Our adversaries did not like our peaceful progress and the rise of India: Governor
“The incident that happened a few days back in the district was an attempt to unleash a major terror attack. The question is when the Tamil Nadu police got the suspects within hours, why did it take more than four days to bring in the NIA,” he asked.
Governor Ravi expressed serious concern over the delay of four days in handing over the #CoimbatoreBlast case to #NIA and possible destruction of crucial evidence in a high profile terror plot. pic.twitter.com/Bu8L4nSrVd
— RAJ BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@rajbhavan_tn) October 28, 2022
“Why did the decision-makers take over four days to call the National Investigation Agency after the police arrested the suspects in the blast,” wondered Ravi.
“Terrorists are enemies of all and friends of none. We know terrorists don’t work in isolation. They are a part of a larger network. What they were doing was part of a larger conspiracy. Coimbatore is a known place for terrorists hatching plots for a long time. They have been trained and taken to Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan,” he said.
“Those involved in the car explosion were on our radar in the past. Where did we miss? Did we lose our monitoring system,” asked Ravi.
“India is on the cusp of development and irreversibly moving forward. Our adversaries did not like our peaceful progress and the rise of India. But, they don’t have the capacity to take on this country now as they know the cost of that. They did Pulwama and got the message with a surgical strike,” he said. “Now, they are trying to create problems within our country. And their most favourite tool is terrorism and thereby try to demoralise the country. It is a proxy war; the most sinister and secret way, we need to be very alert,” Ravi said
“The authorities must not go soft on terrorists and decisions must be taken quickly. When it comes to conflict resolution, there must be unison between Union and State,” the Governor said.
Kovai car blast suspect met men with ISIS links, says Tamil Nadu police
One of the suspects in the Coimbatore car blast case confessed during interrogation that he met two men in a Kerala prison who had links with an ISIS group involved in the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, police sources said on Friday.
Feroze Ismail confessed that he had met Mohammed Azharuddin and Rashid Ali, lodged in a prison in the neighbouring state and further questioning is on to ascertain the motive behind the meeting, they said. Azharuddin and Ali are in jail in connection with a case against them in Kerala.
Five accused were taken to their houses and searches were carried out, police said. Meanwhile, police continued vehicle checks in Coimbatore district and took into their custody unclaimed and abandoned motorcycles and cars parked on the roadside.
Also, officials intensified vehicle checks at police and forest outpost locations on Tamil Nadu’s border with Kerala. Police also stepped up searches on the premises of suspects in other parts of the State.
On 23 October, 75 kg of explosives, including potassium nitrate were seized from the residence of 29-year-old Jameesha Mubeen who was killed after a gas cylinder exploded in a car he was travelling. Mubeen is suspected to have played a key role in a conspiracy bid to carry out sabotage activities here.
The Deepavali eve explosion happened while he was moving past a temple in the car in Coimbatore and he had tried to evade a police check post.
Six persons have so far been arrested in connection with the car explosion case and the National Investigation Agency has taken up the investigation following a recommendation by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
NIA registers case to probe Coimbatore car blast
The NIA on Friday registered a complaint to probe the recent car blast that took place near a temple in Coimbatore, officials said.
A senior National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer said the federal agency has re-registered the case that was first booked by the Tamil Nadu Police.
The decision came after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin recommended an investigation by the NIA into the Sunday blast in which an engineer was killed.
The Tamil Nadu government had said the decision to recommend the probe to the central anti-terror agency was taken as there was involvement of factors “extraneous to the state” and “possible international links”.
On October 23, 75 kg of explosives, including potassium nitrate, were seized from the residence of 29-year old Jameesha Mubeen who was killed after a gas cylinder exploded in a car he was travelling in. Mubeen is suspected to have played a key role in a conspiracy bid to carry out sabotage activities here.
