The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday conducted searches at 43 locations in Tamil Nadu in eight districts, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Thiruvallur, Thiruppur, Nilgiris, Chengalpatu, Kanchipuram and Nagapattinam and one location in Kerala’s Palakkad in relation with the Coimbatore blast case.
The blast in a car laden with explosives in front of Coimbatore’s Kottai Eswaran Temple killed a man identified as Jamesha Mubeen who, probe later revealed, was planning to carry out suicide attacks and “cause extensive damage to symbols and monuments of a particular religious faith”.
The city police had seized 75 kg of explosives and documents from Mubeen, including the drawing of a flag resembling that of the Islamic State. In the probe, police found that a petrol car was used to trigger the blast and the deceased had tried to augment the impact of the explosion by stocking LPG cylinders.
The report said Mubeen used nails and marble pieces along with explosive substances to increase the intensity of the blast. However, one of the nails pierced the left side of his chest and went on to rupture his heart, causing his death.
Top intelligence sources had earlier told CNN-News18 that the Coimbatore blast was a “definite act of terror”. This was also deduced from Mubeen’s display picture on his mobile phone which said: “If the news about my death reaches you, forgive my mistakes, hide my shortcomings, participate in Janaasa and pray for me” — an indication of a suicide mission.
During the searches conducted on Thursday, digital devices and incriminating documents were seized from the houses of the suspects.
Six accused have been arrested in the case so far for conspiring with Mubeen to procure different chemicals and other ingredients and fabricate Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), including a vehicle-borne IED, from online shopping platforms to commit terrorist acts.
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