The NIA Special Court in Ernakulam convicted and sentenced three accused in the 2005 case in which a bus was burnt down in Kerala's Kalamassery. According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the three accused were convicted for causing damage to a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus, which was plying between Kerala's Ernakulam and Tamil Nadu's Salem. The three accused were identified as Nazeer Thadiyanthavidatha, Sabir Buhari and Thajudin. While Nazeer and Sabir were handed out seven years' rigorous imprisonment, Thajudin was sentenced to six years in prison.
The three pleaded guilty to torching the TNSTC bus in Kalamassery, demanding release of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Abdul Nasser Mahdani, who was detained in connection with the 1998 Coimbatore blast case.
Muhammed Sabir, one of the accused in the bus burning case, is still absconding while another accused Abdul Rahim was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kupwara in 2008, according to reports.
What Happened in Kalamassery In 2005?
The accused persons named above assembled at Aluva Masjid on September 8, 2005, and chalked out their plan to set ablaze a Tamil Nadu government-owned bus, according to the NIA. Accordingly, the gang waylaid a TNSTC bus on September 9, 2005, at Kalamassery near Kochi and forced passengers to get down. They torched the bus then, in retaliation to delay in the release of Mahdani from jail.
The NIA filed chargesheet against 13 accused in the case on December 17, 2010. Eight of them are still standing trial in the case.
The 1998 Coimbatore Blasts
On February 14, 1998, Coimbatore, an otherwise peaceful city, was rocked by a devastating attack as bombing by terrorists killed 58 people and injured over 250. The attacks were reportedly carried out at 11 different places in the city within a radius of 12 km, with 13 bombs going off in all. The terror attacks took place nearly three months after 18 Muslims were killed in an encounter by police personnel following the killing of a police constable.