Tamil Nadu launched an investigation into Sunday's LPG cylinder blast in Coimbatore after it was revealed that the deceased 25-year-old Jameesha Mubin was questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2019 for terror links to the radical group Zahran Hashim, mastermind of the Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka.
Jameesha Mubin was driving the car in wee hours of Sunday with two LPG cylinders and other materials when it exploded. The explosion occurred in front of a temple in Coimbatore.
Tamil Nadu Director General of Police C. Sylendra Babu has not ruled out a terror plot even though the police are keeping mum as the evidence surrounding the blast is still hazy.
Babu said that they are looking into every angle because the materials recovered from Mubin's house 'may have been meant for a future plan.'
There is no substantial evidence to support the claim if the expolosion was an attempted attack on the temple, 'Except for the location where it occurred, before the temple, there is no proof to support this claim right now,' a police officer on the case said.
After the explosion, when the police digged into details about Mubin, it raised suspicions due to the location of the explosion. And upon raiding his house, authorities found explosive components including potassium nitrate, aluminium powder, sulphur and charcoal.
The Indian Express reported that according to a source, Mubin was questioned by the NIA in 2019.
The report qutoing the source said, 'He was one among the five people we had to examine in 2019 since he had been attending Bayan classes at a Coimbatore mosque of the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ). These classes were closely related to Mohammed Azharudeen, who had direct contact with Zahran Hashim, the mastermind and the leader of the suicide bombers in Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka.'
Azharudeen was held for multiple charges after the Easter Sunday blasts for his alleged role in recruiting youth from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He reportedly also played a significant role in the Islamic State group's Tamil Nadu unit.
CCTV footage accessed by The Indian Express from a building near Mubin's house showed four men, reportedly Mubin too, lugging a large object out of his home.
The video is from around 11:25 PM. While the police are searching for the remaining three seen in the video, investigators believe that the huge object brought out of the house wrapped in white was one of the cylinders that exploded.
Mubin's body recovered from the explosion site was unrecognisable with one of the cylinders weighing 35 KGs in the car that remained unexploded.
The IE report further said according to an investigator with the Tamil Nadu Police, that except for the NIA investigation, Mubin has never had a case filed against him.
“After the explosion, we gathered CCTV footage to identify the car’s origin, which led to his home and the confiscation of things including black powder, potassium nitrate, and matchboxes. Although Mubin was married, he and his wife, deaf and dumb, lived apart. Seven people who had contact with Mubin in the recent days by phone and in person are being questioned now,” added the investigator.
TN police is treading carefully when attributing a terror plot to the case with six teams working to find additional information about Mubin, including people he met, locations he visited and social media movement.
The case is now political too after BJP state President K Annamalai tweeted that the Coimbatore cylinder blast is no longer a 'cylinder blast'.
He questioned the Chief Minister MK Stalin, accusing the government of failure after a 'clear cut terror act with ISIS links'.
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