A day after five persons were arrested in connection with a car explosion in Coimbatore in which a man was killed, police announced that they have invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the case. Addressing the media, Coimbatore Commissioner of Police V Balakrishnan said that while a First Information Report (FIR) was previously registered under Section 174 of The Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Section 3(a) of The Explosive Substances Act, it has now been altered to include relevant sections of anti-terror law UAPA. Section 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have also been added to the case, in which the deceased Jamesha Mubin has also been named as an accused.
All the five accused arrested in the case will be produced before the judicial magistrate by Tuesday evening. “We have questioned more than 20 people in connection with this case and we are continuing our investigations. We are also keeping a close watch on the suspects and will carry out house searches based on the information we receive during the course of the investigations,” Commissioner Balakrishnan said.
The cylinder explosion in a car happened near Kottai Eswaran Temple in the busy and communally sensitive Ukkadam area in Coimbatore around 4 am on Sunday, October 23. Twenty-five-year-old engineering graduate Jamesha Mubin, who was travelling in the car, was killed in the incident. Police said they had seized around 75 kg of materials like potassium nitrate, aluminium powder, charcoal and sulphur used in making explosives, from Mubin’s house.
On Monday, police arrested five persons in connection with the case – Muhammad Talka, Muhammed Azharuddin, Muhammed Riyaz, Firoze Ismail and Muhammed Nawaz Ismail – all in their 20s. CCTV footage had shown a group of men carrying a gunny bag from Mubin’s house at around 11.25 pm on Saturday. Police said the five accused were arrested based on the CCTV footage. The police have also recovered CCTV visuals from various locations in Coimbatore and special teams are analysing the footage, which is in huge volumes.
Balakrishnan also said that the day the explosion occurred, police personnel on regular beat had visited the Kottai Eswaran Temple located barely 200 meters from the blast site, at around 3.30 am. At 4 am, when the explosion happened, the police personnel visited the spot immediately and informed the Fire and Rescue Services Department. “Our investigation has revealed that because of the presence of police personnel in the area, the car was unable to cross further and exploded in that spot,” the Commissioner said.
“Immediately after the incident, we stepped up security across Coimbatore district and ensured that there was no further disturbance to the general public on the eve of Deepavali. We are investigating further to know who the other persons involved in this conspiracy are. Appropriate action will be taken accordingly and the public will be informed,” the Commissioner added.