A 25-year-old man died on October 22 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, after an LPG cylinder in a vehicle exploded in the communally sensitive Kottaimedu region. A Jamesha Mubin of Kottaipudur, near GM Nagar in Ukkadam, has been identified as the deceased who triggered the Coimbatore blast. There was an explosion at about 4 am in a Maruti car just opposite the Kottai Eswaran temple in the Ukkadam area of Coimbatore. Two gas cylinders, marbles, and nails were found.
The blast caused the vehicle, a Maruti 800 hatchback to shatter into pieces. Another unexploded LPG cylinder, steel balls, glass pebbles, and aluminium and iron nails were also recovered from the spot by police.
Reports are now emerging of the Intelligence Agencies confirming that the blast was not detonation by mistake, however, was a confirmed “Fidayeen attack” or terrorist attack. According to an exclusive report by News18, there have been several explosive items like Potassium nitrate, sulphate etc have been recovered from the house of Jamesha Mubin, the terrorist who was in the car that exploded.
Reported, on his phone display picture, Mubin had written, “if the news about my death reaches you, forgive my mistakes, hide my shortcomings, participate in Janaasa and pray for me” – according to News18 intelligence sources, this is a clear indication that Mubin was, in fact, a suicide bomber. In fact, the News18 source has said that Mubin’s plan was to detonate, probably when the Temple crowd was at its peak and that could be the reason why he had gone to the area at 4 AM.
Interestingly, the Intelligence Agencies have also confirmed that CCTV footage of Mubin was seen loading the cylinder in the car and that footage is being investigated. The News18 report also says that authorities believe that Mubin was “circumcised” and that the attack could have a link to ISIS. In the attack, the asbestos of the temple was damaged, however, no other damage was caused.
While the blast took place in the wee hours of Sunday morning, on Saturday night, at around 11:25 PM, 5 men were taking out gunny bags from the house of Mubin, as confirmed by the CCTV footage recovered by the police.
It is pertinent to note that before this information emerged about the Coimbatore blast, the DGP had given a different statement. “He is not affiliated with any organisation. There is no case against the deceased person, but he has links with a few people under NIA’s radar. We have identified the source of the cylinders and the car. This could not be a suicide attack. The explosion happened when the nails and ball bearing were in the car. Chemicals were in his home. We are going through his call history and contacting the people who were in touch with him,” the DGP said. “We have traced him within 12 hours of the incident. It is suspected that Jamesha was on his way to some other place in the car with materials used for making explosives. To evade police checks, he must have parked the vehicle in front of the temple where the blast occurred. We don’t know the full details of his plan. Further probe is on,” Sylendra Babu said. The DGP also said, “In 2019, the National Investigation Agency conducted searches at his house. We are investigating his background, links, and possible association with any organisation”.
Who is Jamesha Mubin – the Islamist who triggered the Coimbatore blast
Jamesha Mubin, who triggered the Coimbatore blast, used to work in his father’s scrap store in the city’s Town Hall district. Police have filed complaints under Sections 174 of the IPC and 3A of the Explosive Substances Act, and an investigation has commenced.
