Two more arrested in Coimbatore car bomb blast case, says NIA
New Delhi, Dec 28: Two persons were arrested on Wednesday in connection with a car bomb explosion outside a temple in Tamil Nadu, taking the number of people held in the case to 11, an official of the National Investigation Agency said.
Sheikh Hidayathullah and Sanofar Ali, both residents of Coimbatore, were arrested after the ongoing probe pointed to their involvement in the criminal conspiracy to cause the terror attack, a spokesperson of the NIA said.
The
blast
in
a
car
laden
with
explosives
outside
Kottai
Eswaran
Temple
on
October
23
on
the
eve
of
Diwali
left
its
driver
Jamesha
Mubeen,
who
had
joined
the
global
terror
group
ISIS,
dead.
The
case
was
initially
registered
at
Ukkadam
police
station
in
Coimbatore
district
on
October
23
and
re-registered
by
the
NIA
on
October
27.
Nine
accused
have
been
arrested
in
the
case
earlier,
the
spokesperson
said.
"Investigations revealed that the arrested persons (Hidayatullah and Ali) had entered into a criminal conspiracy in the interior of forested regions of Asanoor and Kadambur areas of Sathyamangalam forest in Erode district in February.
"The meetings were led by previously arrested accused Umar Farook...where they conspired to prepare for and execute terror acts," the spokesperson said. The aim was to cause extensive damage to the place of worship with the intention to strike terror in the community, the spokesperson said.