Coimbatore blast case: NIA searches across TN, Kerala

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches at 43 locations across eight districts of Tamil Nadu and one location in Kerala, in the case relating to a car bomb blast that took place in the vicinity of a temple in Coimbatore on October 23. The searches were carried out across Chennai, Coimbatore, Thiruvallur, Thiruppur, Nilgiris, Chengalpatu, Kanchipuram and Nagapattinam districts of Tamil Nadu and Palakkad district of Kerala. Preliminary investigation into the blast in an explosives-laden car in front of Kottai Eswaran temple has revealed that a deceased accused, Jamesha Mubeen, after taking oath of allegiance to IS, was planning to “carry out suicide attacks and cause extensive damage to symbols and monuments of a particular religious faith and with the intention to strike terror among a particular section of community,” the NIA said. During the searches, NIA teams seized digital devices and incriminating documents from the houses of suspects in the case.