Leaders of the Muslim Jamath on Thursday visited the site of the car cylinder blast near the Sangameswarar temple in Coimbatore and held a discussion with its executive officer and temple priests.

Tension gripped the area after the blast in which a man was charred to death. Inayatullah General secretary Sunnath Jamaths, “We have been living in this area for the past 200 years, and this Kottaimedu is surrounded by mosques, temples and churches. We live together in a friendly manner and we will not give space to anyone to create division with us and you all know the incident that happened here. We strongly condemn this act in this area and we had decided to create communal harmony in this area. With this today we leaders from Sunnath jamaths had come here to meet the Sangameswarar temple authorities.”

He said that the people involved in the blast do not belong to any Jamaths.
“Today we met the temple authority and asked about the situation and we live for peace and tranquillity in the Coimbatore region,” he said.

He further said that a political panic situation prevails against minorities not only in Coimbatore but also across the country.

“We urge the political leaders to create communal harmony and peace in the country and they should come forward to create peace in this country,” he added.

Tamil Nadu police have so far arrested six people in connection with the Coimbatore car blast case, and have invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Those arrested are learned to be associates of Jameesha Mubin, who was charred to death in suspicious circumstances after an LPG cylinder inside the car he was driving exploded near a temple around 4 am on October 23.

According to the police, Mubin, 25, who was an engineering graduate, was previously questioned by the NIA in 2019 for alleged terror links. His name is mentioned as the primary accused in the case.

Five people arrested on Monday (October 24) night were Mohammad Thalka, 25, Mohammad Asarudheen, 25, Muhammad Riyaz, 27, Feroz Ismail, 27, and Mohammad Navaz Ismail, 27. The sixth person, identified as Afsar Khan, a relative of the deceased, was arrested on October 27.
Khan is a cousin of the deceased. He was picked up by the special investigation team.

On Wednesday, police officials also conducted searches at Khan’s residence and seized his laptop. Tamil Nadu DGP said the police found materials used to make explosives in Mubin’s house in Ukkadam. They seized 75 kg of potassium nitrate, charcoal, aluminum powder and sulphur which can be used to make explosives.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu police handed over the documents of the case to NIA, said police officials on Sunday.

Expressing his dissatisfaction over the alleged State government’s delay in handing over the Coimbatore blast case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Friday said there should be “no politics” on terrorism.

Governor Ravi also expressed serious concern over the possible destruction of crucial evidence in a “high-profile terror plot”, said Raj Bhavan.

Governor praised the police which established the car blast as a serious terror attack conspiracy within hours of the incident and lamented soft peddling by the State government. He urged “no politics on terrorism and no leniency to terrorists as they are enemies of the nation and friends of none,” added Raj Bhavan.