Several leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had called for a bandh in Coimbatore on October 31, alleging lackadaisical attitude on the part of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) over the recent blast but the party has officially denied it. On Friday, October 28, BJP women's wing leader Vanathi Srinivasan said the party would observe the bandh as planned. "DMK should not be soft on terrorism and should put down terrorism with an iron fist" she said in a statement. But hours later, BJP state president K Annamalai told the Madras High Court that the party has not decided on organising a bandh and has not given any such call.
Earlier this week, on October 26, BJP’s National Executive Committee Member and former Tamil Nadu BJP president CP Radhakrishan had announced the party’s decision to organise a bandh. In a press meet, he flayed the state government for the way in which it was handling the investigation of the car blast that happened in Kottaimedu, in front of the Sangameswarar temple on the morning of October 23.
RC Paul Kanagaraj, the counsel for Annamalai, who appeared before the Division Bench of Justice Paresh Upadhyay and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, informed that the decision on the mode of protest was yet to be taken. The judges who recorded his submission adjourned the matter to November 1. The petition challenging the bandh was filed by VR Vengadesh, who runs Teacher Publishing House in Coimbatore. In his petition, he called the BJP's decision to organise a bandh on October 31 unnecessary as the state government has taken effective action.
The Coimbatore car blast case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin made a recommendation. To strengthen security, the state government ordered three new police stations to be set up in Karumbukadai, Sundarapuram, and Goundanpalayam in Coimbatore. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) directed the NIA to initiate the probe on October 27. Tamil Nadu Police have so far arrested six people in connection with the incident.
The fifth Judicial Magistrate court in Coimbatore remanded Mohammed Thalha (25), Mohammed Azarudeen (23), Mohammed Riyaz (27), Firoz Ismail (27), Mohammed Navaw Ismail (27) in judicial custody on October 28. They were produced before the court after three days of police custody. Afsar Khan (28) the seventh accused in the case, was remanded in judicial custody on the evening of October 27.
Watch: Why the Kerala Governor asked 9 VCs to resign