Police sources, on Friday, October , said that one of the six accused in the Coimbatore blast case, confessed during interrogation that he met two men in a Kerala prison who had links with terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syrai (ISIS), who were involved in the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka. Feroz Ismail confessed that he had met Mohammed Azharuddin and Rashid Ali, lodged in a prison in the neighbouring state and further questioning is on to ascertain the motive behind the meeting, they said. Azharuddin and Ali are in jail in connection with a case against them in Kerala.
The five accused were taken to their houses and searches were carried out, police said. In the meanwhile, police continued vehicle checks in Coimbatore district and took into their custody unclaimed and abandoned motorcycles and cars parked on the roadside.
Apart from that, officials also intensified vehicle checks at police and forest outpost locations on Tamil Nadu's border with Kerala. Police also stepped up searches on the premises of suspects in other parts of the State.
On 23 October, 75-kg of explosives, including potassium nitrate were seized from the residence of 29-year old Jameesha Mubeen who was killed after a gas cylinder exploded in a car in Ukkadam, Coimbatore. Mubeen is suspected to have played a key role in a conspiracy bid to carry out sabotage activities in the city. The Deepavali eve explosion happened while he was moving past Kottai Eswari temple in Ukkadam in the car where the gas cylinders were kept.
Six persons have so far been arrested in connection with the car explosion case and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken up investigation following a recommendation by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. The NIA filed its first First Information Report (FIR) on Thursday, October 27. This was on the same day the union government handed over the investigation of the case to the NIA.