TN recommends Union govt to shift Kovai car blast case to NIA

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday decided to recommend the Union government to shift the Coimbatore car blast case to National Investigation Agency (NIA). The decision to shift the case was taken in a meeting on law and order chaired by Chief Minister MK Stalin, at the Secretariat.

"Since there are chances of the investigation in such cases leading to links in other states and outside the country, it was decided in the meeting that the state government will send recommendations to the union government to handover the (Coimbatore car blast) case to NIA," the State government said in a press communique.

Following the explosion of a LPG enhanced blast inside a car in Ukkadam in Coimbatore on October 23, five persons were arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and investigation is still going on.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister held a meeting on the law and order situation in the State with top officials of the government including Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu, Home Secretary Phanindra Reddy, DGP C Sylendra Babu, ADGP (Intelligence) S Davidson Devasirvatham and obtained information from the officials about the current status of ongoing investigation in the Coimbatore incident and the security measures taken by the police department in Coimbatore. The Chief Minister had also directed the officials to ensure security in Coimbatore.

However, in the meeting, the Chief Minister issued some key directions to the officials such as establishing three new police stations in Karumbukadai, Sundarapuram and Kavundampalayam (all three in Coimbatore) to strengthen security in Coimbatore, to form a special police wing to prevent such incidents in the future, to install new CCTV cameras in crowded places in important cities in Tamil Nadu such as Coimbatore, to appoint additional policemen in the intelligence wing of state police and provide sufficient protection to those who provide information about people and their allies involved in such terror incidents.

The stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been invoked in the case relating to a car explosion in the city that killed one person, while five others have been arrested over the incident and police have intensified the probe covering all aspects including terror angle.

The city has been brought under a tight security cover, as the explosion occurred in front of Kottai Eswaran Temple in the heart of the city in the communally sensitive Ukkdam area, a day ahead of Deepavali.

The city police had arrested five associates of the deceased Jamesha Mubeen, after invoking the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and remanded them to judicial custody till November 8. Mubeen was killed after a gas cylinder in the car he was travelling in exploded.