No delay in handing over Kovai blast case to NIA: Thennarasu

CHENNAI: State Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Friday countered the views of Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi by saying that there was no delay in shifting the Coimbatore car blast case to National Investigation Agency (NIA).

"Immediately after the blast, typically within a few hours, the top police officials visited the spot and carried out an investigation. On the next day, October 24, sleuths attached to NIA and IB along with the state police started the investigation. There is a false image that there was delay in handing over the case to NIA which is not true," said Thangam Thennarasu, while addressing the media, in Thoothukudi.

The Governor, in a college function in Coimbatore, alleged that there was a delay of four days in handing over the case to NIA and raised the doubt of possible destruction of crucial evidence. Replying to the allegations of the Governor, Thangam Thennarasu said that state police have established the procedure of working jointly with NIA in cases where the territory of the case extends beyond Tamil Nadu.

"When Popular Front of India (PFI) was banned the State government jointly worked with the NIA and at that time NIA appreciated the Tamil Nadu police. In this case too, police shared all the intelligence with NIA and IB sleuths. It was the responsibility of the state police to file FIR and to carry out preliminary investigation in a case but NIA has the power to take over the case on its own which they did not do and worked with the state police,” said the Minister.

He further said that Jemisha Mubeen was investigated in 2019 by NIA and was brought in the investigation circle, but Tamil Nadu government has no idea why he was let free.