Jameesha Mubin, 29, the suspected mastermind of the recent car explosion in front of the Sangameswarar temple at Kottaimedu in Coimbatore, allegedly used fictitious names while procuring raw materials for the blast, according to investigators.
Before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the investigation, the police found that Mubin had used the name ‘Abdul Rahman’ when he allegedly contacted a trader who sold him three metal cans. The cans, purchased from Lorry Pettai area near Ukkadam, were used to fill explosive materials, nails and glass marbles that were subsequently loaded into Mubin’s hatchback, which exploded in front of the temple around 4 a.m. on October 23, killing him on the spot, police sources said.
“The police investigation [before the case was handed over to the NIA] revealed that Mubin followed the modus operandi of using fake names. He also made calls to bring his associates to his house under the pretext of seeking help for an ailment,” Coimbatore City Police Commissioner V. Balakrishnan told The Hindu.
For instance, on October 22, a day before the blast, Mubin called his relative and a suspect in the case, Afsar Khan, 28, to his house, complaining of chest pain, around 3.30 a.m. “During the investigation, it was found that Mubin first made a WhatsApp call to Khan and communicated that he would call him on the pretext of having chest pain. After the WhatsApp call, Mubin made a phone call to Khan, complaining of chest pain, and asked him to come to his house for help. The second conversation was recorded in Khan’s phone,” according to Mr. Balakrishnan.
The investigators suspect that Khan, a resident of Vincent Road, came to Mubin’s house on H.M.P.R. Street, around 350 metres from the temple, after the call and engaged in suspicious activities, possibly the preparations for the blast.
Mubin is said to have used three mobile numbers. While one of his phones is believed to have been destroyed in the blast, another one was recovered from his house. The data in the mobile phone are expected to be retrieved by the NIA.
Muhammad Thalha, 25, Muhammad Azharudheen, 23, Muhammad Riyas, 27, Firoz Ismail, 27, and his brother Muhammad Nawaz Ismail, 27, are the other suspects who were arrested in connection with the blast.
Thalha is accused of arranging the car for Mubin, while the others were arrested on the charge of aiding him at various levels. Riyas, Nawaz and Firoz had told the police that they merely helped Mubin shift between houses.
Meanwhile, two recordings of suspected phone conversation between Riyas and his mother, and another between Firoz and Riyas have emerged. In the suspected conversation between Riyas and his mother, the latter asks him where he was and he replies he was helping Mubin in house shifting. Riyas also says he was along with Firoz and Nawaz. In another conversation, Firoz calls Riyas to come to Mubin’s place to vacate the house.
