3 Arrested for car bomb explosion in Coimbatore

The NIA had said that Jameesha Mubin had planned suicide attacks to cause extensive damage to symbols and monuments of a particular religious faith.

Chennai, Dec 07: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the Coimbatore blast case on Wednesday arrested three accused in the bomb blast case of an explosives-laden car that occurred in front of Kottai Eswaran Temple in October.

The arrested have been identified as Mohammed Thoufeek, 25, Ferose Khan, 28, and Umar Faaruq, 39, according to a statement by the NIA.

Earlier in a statement, the NIA had said that Jameesha Mubin had planned suicide attacks to cause extensive damage to symbols and monuments of a particular religious faith.

Mubin had taken an oath to serve the Islamic State and was planning on carrying out suicide attacks to strike terror among a particular community.

The NIA learnt that Mubin had listed articles such as potassium nitrate, nitroglycerin, red phosphorus, pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) powder, aluminium powder black powder, matchbox, 2-m-long cracker fuse, portable oxygen cylinder, sulphur powder, glass marbles, a gas regulator, several sets of batteries, loose wires, iron nails, switch, insulation and packaging tapes and gloves.

For him to obtain PETN powder in higher quantity, it has taken him long. It is not easily available and he had procured the same in small quantities over the past one year. He had even procured some of it through online websites. Moreover, it is also learnt that he had taken small loans from neighbours to procure these materials.

On October 23 at around 4 pm, a car laden with explosives blew up in front of the Kottai Eswaran Temple in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district. Mubin was driving the Maruti 800 car in which an LPG cylinder exploded. Mubin who was driving the car was killed instantly in the blast.

Several arrests have been arrested so far in connection with the incident. The Tamil Nadu police probed the matter first before the case was handed over to the NIA.