Coimbatore city police on Monday night arrested five Muslim men in connection with a car blast in front of a temple in which one Jamesa Mubin was killed in the city on Sunday. Those who were arrested have been identified as Mohammed Dhalha, Mohammed Azarudeen, Mohammed Riyas, Feroz Ismail, and Mohammed Navaz Ismail.
While Police said an LPG cylinder possibly triggered the blast, a search at the residence of the deceased, led to the detection of a huge quantum of low-intensive explosive substances such as including potassium nitrate, Aluminium powder, sulphur and charcoal.
DGP C Sylendra Babu on Sunday said that low-intensive explosive material, used in making explosives, was recovered from the house of Mubin. Going by the materials sized from his house, this could have been meant for a possible plan in the future, the DGP further said.
According to the police, Azarudheen was a cousin and brother of Mubin and he had allegedly arranged the transportation engaged by Mubin. Mohammad Dhalha had arranged the car. The three others Riyaz, Feroz and Navas who were found in the CCTV footage had allegedly helped Mubin to load the materials in the car, The New Indian Express has reported.
Further investigation is underway as to where they bought these explosive substances, in whose direction they tried to relocate them and where they were planning to take them.
As per a report by The Indian Express, Mubin, who died in a blast was earlier questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2019 for his connections to a terrorist network linked to Zahran Hashim, the mastermind of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.
According to preliminary investigation reports cited by India Today, Mubin was ‘radicalized’ by the Islamic state philosophies and ideologies and was planning an Easter bombings-style operation (2019 Sri Lanka blasts) in Coimbatore and was planning to kick start the same from Konniyamman temple or Kotta Eswaran temple in Coimbatore.
Furthermore, he was already on the watchlist of the Tamil Nadu police as he had tried to set off an explosion a few years ago. Back then, owing to a lack of evidence, he was not subjected to arrest or detention. Mubin also had close links with terrorist Mohammed Azharuddin, now in a Kerala jail for his involvement with ISIS networks in the past.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai has said that it was a terror attack with an ISIS link.
“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?” Annamalai said in a tweet.
