Accused in Coimbatore blast met men with ISIS links in Kerala jail: Police

A man, one of the six accused in the explosion case in Coimbatore, confessed during interrogation that he met two men in a Kerala prison who had links with an ISIS group involved in the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, police sources said on Friday.

Feroze Ismail confessed that he had met Mohammed Azharuddin and Rashid Ali, lodged in a prison in the neighbouring state and further questioning is on to ascertain the motive behind the meeting, they said. Azharuddin and Ali are in jail in connection with a case against them in the neighbouring state.

 Five accused were taken to their houses and searches were carried out, the police said. In the meanwhile, the police continued with vehicle checks in Coimbatore district and took into their custody unclaimed and abandoned motorcycles and cars parked on the roadside.

Also, officials intensified vehicle checks at police and forest outpost locations on Tamil Nadu's border with Kerala. The police also stepped up searches on the premises of suspects in other parts of the state.

On October 23, 75 kg of explosives, including potassium nitrate were seized from the residence of 29-year old Jameesha Mubeen who was killed after a gas cylinder exploded in a car he was travelling. Mubeen is suspected to have played a key role in a conspiracy bid to carry out sabotage activities in the city.

The Deepavali eve explosion happened while he was moving past a temple in the car in the western textile city and he tried to evade a police check post.

Six persons have so far been arrested in connection with the car explosion case and the National Investigation Agency has taken up probe following a recommendation by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.

More than 250 people were killed in the 2019 Easter bombings in Sri Lanka.