PM Modi pays tribute to 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blast victims

COIMBATORE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the victims of the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blasts on Monday at the culmination of his roadshow in Coimbatore. The blast in 1998 had claimed the lives of 58 people and 250 suffered injuries when 19 bomb explosions rocked Coimbatore city in Tamil Nadu between February 14 and 17, 1998.

The improvised explosive devices, with time delay mechanisms, had been placed in cars, two-wheelers, abandoned bags, push carts, tea cans, and so on. Following the incident, Tamil Nadu government banned the 'Ummah' organization whose founder Basha was a mastermind in the incident. The Madras High Court, in its verdict in December 2009 on the appeals filed by those convicted by the trial court, said that February 14, 1998, was a day of "unimaginable terror and horror as bombs continuously exploded in the city of Coimbatore."

Of the 166 accused in the case, the trial court in August 2007 pronounced 69 people guilty of different offenses.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted a roadshow in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore on Monday as part of the BJP's election campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai and Union Minister L Murugan also accompanied him during the roadshow. A large number of spectators gathered in the area to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister during the roadshow. Notably, the BJP is without a major alliance partner in Tamil Nadu, and PM Modi has already made five visits to Tamil Nadu this year ahead of the Lok Sabha election. The state will vote on all 39 Lok Sabha seats in Phase 1 on April 19.