Chennai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested three persons in connection with the Coimbatore car bomb blast case on Wednesday.
The three arrested have been identified as Mohammed Thoufeek (25) of Podanur, son of Mohd Sheikh Fareek, Umar Faaruq (a) K Srinivasan (39) of Connoor, son of Kasi and Ferose Khan (28) of South Ukkadam, son of Barakath Ali.
After the blast, the police registered an FIR at PS Ukkadam and the case was re-registered by NIA on October 27.
On October 23, an explosives-laden car exploded in front of Kottai Eswaran Temple of Coimbatore District. The preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased accused Jamesha Mubeen, after taking bayath to ISIS, planned to carry out a suicidal attack. He also reportedly wanted to cause extensive damage to symbols and monuments of a particular religious faith and with the intention to strike terror among the people.
On Wednesday, sources said that the probe revealed that the accused persons Umar Faaruq and Ferose Khan were part of the conspiracy meetings attended by Jamesha Mubeen in Umar’s residence at Coonor, Nilgiris district.
They also provided support to Jamesha Mubeen in the commission of the terror acts. Mohammed Thoufeek was in possession of incriminating literature/books connected to radical Islam and also had handwritten notes on the preparation of explosives, they said.
Further investigations in the case are in progress.
After the explosion, a low-intensity explosion took place on the outskirts of Mangaluru in November. The investigating agencies believe that there are links between the bomb blast in Coimbatore temple and the Mangaluru blast case.