NIA raids in blasts cases: Digital devices, Rs 4L cash seized so far

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka on Wednesday in connection with two cases of blasts in Coimbatore and Mangaluru, its official spokesperson said.

The searches led to the seizure of a large number of digital devices and Rs 4 lakh in cash, the spokesperson said, adding further investigations in these two cases are on.

The searches were carried out at 40 places -- 32 in connection with the Coimbatore car bomb blast and eight linked to the Mangaluru blast.

One of the cases relates to a bomb blast in a car laden with explosives in front of Kottai Eswaran Temple in Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu.

The accused, Jamesha Mubeen, after swearing "Bayath" (allegiance) to the ISIS, was planning to carry out a suicide attack on October 23 last year and cause extensive damage to the temple complex with the intention to strike terror among a section of the society, the agency spokesperson said.

The second case relates to a pressure cooker bomb blast that took place in a moving auto-rickshaw in Mangaluru City in Karnataka on November 19 last year.

The blast occurred when the accused was carrying the improvised explosive device for planting it in a public place.

The searches linked to the Coimbatore case were carried out in 32 places in Tamil Nadu and Kerala -- Coimbatore (14), Trichy (1), Nilgiris (2), Tirunelveli (3), Tuticorin (1), Chennai (3), Thiruvannamalai (2), Dindigul (1), Mayiladuthurai (1), Krishnagiri (1), Kanyakumari (1), Tenkasi (1) and Ernakulam (1).

The agency carried out searches in eight places in connection with the Mangaluru case -- Tiruppur (2) and Coimbatore (1) of Tamil Nadu, Ernakulam (4) of Kerala, and Mysuru (1) of Karnataka.