Coimbatore car blast: 5 men arrested, anti-terror law UAPA invoked as probe expands

The investigation into the car blast in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore is expanding, with five persons being arrested, and the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) being invoked.

A terrorism angle has not been ruled out. Police are probing if the man killed in the gas cylinder explosion in the car on 23 October 2022, Jemisha Mubeen had any links with Mohammed Azharuddin, who is an accused in the Easter Sunday bomb blasts in Sri Lanka. The attack in Lanka in 2019 had killed over 250 people.

Further, 75 kg of potassium nitrate, charcoal and aluminium powder have been recovered from Mubeen's house. These chemicals are used in making country bombs, police had said earlier.

Three of the arrested men were seen in CCTV footage carrying two LPG cylinders and two small drums along with Mubeen. The contents have been sent for forensic examination. Another person was arrested for coordination, while one man was arrested for providing the car, as per police.

(With PTI inputs)