'Kovai suicide bomb attack exposes failure of police intelligence'

CHENNAI: Calling the Coimbatore car explosion as module of “ISIS suicide bomb attack”, state BJP leader K Annamalai on Tuesday said its a complete failure of the state government and the state police department’s surveillance mechanism.

“If the blast took place, it would have led to the dismissal of the government,” Annamalai told the reporters at the party headquarters and noted that he wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagging some of the crucial shortcomings in the state police’s approach in handling the case.

He continued even after 48 hours, the state police maintain the suicide bomb attack as gas cylinder blast. The police have picked a total of 13 persons following the incident. It showed the arrest of five persons and not disclosing the details about the eight others. He wondered why the police statement on the arrest of five did not have details on charges against them and what the sections invoked against them. He noted that police have confiscated 55 kg ammonium nitrate, potassium, sodium, fuse and wire from Mubin’s house.

Coming down heavily on the Q branch wing of the state police, Annamalai said Jameesha Mubin, who was killed in the explosion on Sunday, has changed his WhatsApp status two days on October 21. He read out Mubin’s WhatsApp status message -‘When the news about my death reaches you, forgive my mistake, hide my shortcomings and participate in my jansa and pray for me - and said it was a classical similarity among the ISIS suicide bomb attacker. He hinted that similar message would be posted by the suicide bomb attackers before executing their plan.

“Why the Q branch have failed in surveillance Mubin, who was interrogated by NIA in connection with the Sri Lanka Easter bomb attack,” said Annamalai. He also skirted away from answering reporters question on NIA role on monitoring Mubin.

He further said Coimbatore has turned into a safe haven for terror elements and it is spreading to neighbouring districts such as Salem and Erode districts as the police have arrested person having link with terror organisations in the recent past. “The Q branch should be strengthen by infusing experts on counter terrorist, intelligence gathering. However, the wing has been spending 99% of its effort on political intelligence,” he said.

He further claimed that there were more number of radicalised youngsters in the state and the terror organisations were trying to penetrate to utilise the eco-system prevailing in the state. “We are planning to meet the Governor in the coming days regarding this,” said Annamalai.