Coimbatore blast case: 1 more held; NIA takes over case

The police on Thursday (October 27) arrested one more person in connection with the car explosion case in Coimbatore, taking the total number of arrests to six.

The arrested man, Afsar Khan, a local resident, had reportedly played a major role in sourcing explosive materials seized from the house of Jamesha Mubin, the victim in the car explosion in Coimbatore on October 23, on the eve of Deepavali.

The 28-year-old Khan is a relative of Mubin and had helped purchase a large quantity of explosive materials from e-commerce platforms, said the police.

Khan fell into the police dragnet after he was questioned on suspicion for more than five hours and a search of his house which led to the seizure of a laptop on Wednesday, which was sent for cyber analysis. This resulted in his arrest on Thursday morning, said the police.

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Police had earlier arrested five persons in connection with the explosion under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, even as senior officials of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) are camping in Coimbatore.

Meanwhile, police began interrogation of these five accused, Muhammad Thalha, Muhammad Azharuddin, Muhammad Riyas, Muhammed Nawaz and Firoz Ismail, as the 5th Judicial Magistrate here granted three days custody.

Probe handed over to the NIA

The Centre on Thursday (October 27) decided to hand over to the NIA, the probe into the recent blast near a temple in Coimbatore, said officials.

The decision came after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin recommended an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the Sunday blast in which an engineer was killed.

Also Read: TN govt to recommend NIA probe into Coimbatore car cylinder blast

“The Union home ministry has decided to hand over the Coimbatore blast case to the NIA,” an official said.

The Tamil Nadu government said the decision to recommend the probe handover to the central anti-terror agency was taken as there is involvement of factors “extraneous to the state” and “possible international links”.

On Sunday, a car loaded with two gas cylinders exploded near a temple in Coimbatore. It was being driven by one Jameesha Mubin, a 29-year-old engineering graduate.

Mubin had attempted to get past a police check post near the temple, but fled after failing to do so, state police chief C Sylendra Babu told reporters on Monday.

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Police have arrested five people who had been in contact with Mubi and charged them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Mubin was under the NIA radar in 2019 in the aftermath of the Easter bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, but no case was filed against him, the police said.

(With inputs from agencies)