Coimbatore car blast: Police arrest five associates of mastermind, invoke UAPA

Chennai: Investigation into the car explosion in Coimbatore on Deepavali eve has pointed to a clear sign of a terror plot possibly having gone awry in Tamil Nadu.

The police have arrested five associates of Jameesha Mubin, a youth who was killed in the explosion and is now suspected to be the mastermind of the plot and not a victim as was believed initially.

UAPA invoked against those arrested

Although police have till now maintained the explosion was triggered by a LPG cylinder blast in the vehicle, they have invoked the provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against those arrested. This has been done to probe the angle of sabotage following the recovery of explosive materials from Mubin’s house. Besides, CCTV camera footage had shown some of the accused helping Mubin to move a sack load of mysterious object from his house, prior to the car explosion in front of the the Sangameswarar temple at Kottaimedu.

The police said Muhammad Thalha, Muhammad Riyaz, Firoz Ismail, Muhammad Azharudheen and Muhammad Nawaz Ismail, all aged in their twenties and residents of Coimbatore, were arrested late on Monday, a day after the blast. 

Section invoked in FIR registered

According to Coimbatore City Police Commissioner V. Balakrishnan, Sections 120 B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), of the Indian Penal Code; and Sections 16 (punishment for terrorist act) and 18 (punishment for conspiracy, etc.) of the UAPA were added to the FIR. 

Initially the FIR registered by the Ukkadam police had mentioned only Sections 174 (police to enquire and report on suicide, etc.) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 3 (punishment for causing explosion likely to endanger life or property) of the Explosive Substances Act.

The city police chief said, while some of those arrested had helped Mubin transport explosive materials, Thalha is believed to have arranged the fateful car, which exploded in the early hours of Sunday. 

Reports of forensic examination to establish if any chemicals or explosive substances were present at the blast site are yet to come. 

The police suspect Mubin could have attempted to abandon the car upon coming across a police check post near the temple when it exploded killing him.