COIMBATORE: A 25-year-old engineering graduate was charred to death when a LPG cylinder in his car exploded in front of the Sangameswarar Temple (Kottai Eswaran Temple) in the communally-sensitive Kottaimedu area in Coimbatore city early on Sunday.
The vehicle (Maruti 800 car) burst into two in the impact of the blast. Police have also retrieved another unexploded LPG cylinder, steel balls, glass pebbles, and aluminum and iron nails from the spot. A temporary shelter at the entrance of the temple was partially damaged in the impact of the blast. Security has been beefed up across Coimbatore district following the incident.
According to Director General of Police Sylendra Babu, the deceased has been identified as A Jamesha Mubin of Kottaipudur near GM Nagar in Ukkadam. He used to work in his father's scrap shop in the Town Hall area in the city. Special police teams that searched his house after the blast have seized some materials used for making low-intensity explosives. The seized materials have been sent for forensic examination. Police have filed cases under Sections 174 of CrPC and 3A of the Explosive Substances Act, 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.
“In 2019, the National Investigation Agency conducted searches at his house. We are investigating his background, links, and possible association with any organisation,” the DGP said.
The car was owned by nine people before him. We have also got some details about places from where he bought the cylinders and other substances, the DGP said.
Earlier in the day, the DGP and ADGP P Thamarai Kannan airdashed to the city from Chennai after the blast.
‘Steps on to find source of cylinders’
Speaking to reporters after inspecting the spot, the DGP said a probe is on to ascertain if the incident was an accident or a conspiracy. “Two LPG cylinders, including an unexploded one, and a few other materials have been retrieved from the spot. A team of forensic experts from Chennai under the director of the department and bomb detection and disposal squads from Coimbatore and Tamil Nadu Commando School are collecting evidence from the scene. Steps are on to find the source of the cylinders,”
Sylendra Babu had said. According to police, Senthil Kannan, a local resident who operates an Aavin milk booth near the temple, saw the car bursting into flames around 4am when he stepped out of his house to open his shop. “There are two temples on the road.
The car which got engulfed in flame after the blast was found on the road between the two temples. It was not clear whether the vehicle was moving at the time of the blast. Locals tried to douse the fire and a woman who resides nearby alerted fire and rescue services over phone. A fire-tender which was on standby in town hall area was rushed to the spot.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze and brought the situation under control within 30 minutes,” police said. On being alerted, police teams along with forensic experts, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads (BDDS) and dog squads were rushed to the spot.
Meanwhile, all roads leading to the Kottai Sangameswarar Temple were sealed and a large number of police personnel brought from neighbouring districts have been deployed at the entrance of the locality to avoid untoward incidents and prevent outsiders from entering into the area. Residents of the area were being allowed to enter only after through search.
Reporters have been stopped from going to the spot. Coimbatore city police commissioner V Balakrishnan has formed six teams to investigate the case and senior police officials from neighbouring districts have been rushed to Coimbatore to assist with the probe.