Tamil Nadu Governor R.N Ravi on Friday questioned why the decision-makers [State government] took over four days to recommend a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the Coimbatore blast, after the police had arrested the suspects.
“The incident that happened a few days back in the district, was an attempt to unleash a major terror attack....The quantity of explosive material that was found later and IED-making chemicals and ingredients were enough to suggest that they (the terrorists) had planned a series of attacks.
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The question is when the Tamil Nadu police got the suspects within hours, why did it take more than four days to bring in the NIA," asked the Governor during an address at the J.S.S. Institute of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences & Hospitals.
‘Coimbatore is a known place for hatching terrorists’
Terrorists are enemies of all and friends of none. “We know terrorists do not work in isolation. They are part of a larger network... What they were doing was part of a larger conspiracy. Coimbatore is a known place for hatching [harbouring] terrorists for a very long time... They have been trained and taken to Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan,” he charged.
“Those involved in the car explosion incident were on our radar in the past. Where did we miss? Did we lose our monitoring system?,” Mr. Ravi, a former IPS officer, asked.
Tamil Nadu Governor R.N Ravi (fourth left) lights the lamp at J.S.S. Institute of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences premises in Coimbatore on October 28, 2022. Also seen are the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University Vice-Chancellor Sudha Seshayyan (second left) and Jagadguru Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Mahaswamiji (third left) Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“India is at the cusp of development and irreversibly moving forward. Our adversaries did not like our peaceful progress and the rise of India. But, they do not have the capacity to take on this country frontally now, as they know the cost of that. They did Pulwama and got the message with a surgical strike,” he said.
Now, they are trying to create problems within our country. And their most favourite tool is terrorism.. and thereby try to demoralise the country. It is a proxy war.. the most sinister and secret way... We need to be very alert, the Governor said.
Mr. Ravi said the authorities “must not go soft on terrorists” and that decisions must be made faster. “When it comes to conflict resolution there must be total unison between Union and State,” he said.
