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Coimbatore, Nov 13 (IANS) In the wake of the November 10 car blast in Delhi, Coimbatore City Police and Tamil Nadu Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) have approached the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to verify whether any of the suspects involved had traveled to or established links with Coimbatore.
The move comes amid heightened security concerns, given the city’s past links to ISIS-inspired operatives.
A senior Coimbatore City Police official said the alert was issued due to the pattern seen in previous terror incidents. “We have contacted the NIA and IB to get details of the suspects in the New Delhi car blast to find out if they had visited Coimbatore earlier. Since similar incidents in the past have been linked to Tamil Nadu, we are not taking any chances,” the officer said.
Coimbatore is on the national terror map after the car bomb blast near Kottai Sangameshwara temple on October 23, 2022, in which suicide bomber and self-radicalized ISIS supporter Jamesa Mubeen was killed. The NIA had termed it a “lone wolf” attack, although the agency had arrested 17 people for aiding and abetting the terrorist plot.
Security concerns deepened after the Mangaluru cooker bomb blast in November 2022, in which accused Mohammed Shariq was found moving through Coimbatore and several other places in Tamil Nadu before carrying out the attack.
Investigators believe Sharik’s actions indicate efforts to create a network or gain logistical support. “Keeping these previous incidents in mind, we are again on high alert,” the official said.
To strengthen surveillance, Coimbatore Police is relying on Octopus, a specialized software used to store and analyze data of suspects.
According to officials, around 140 persons suspected of being radicalized are currently being kept under strict surveillance by the city police. A dedicated media monitoring cell continues to scan social media platforms for signs of extremist content or suspicious online activity.
As part of the preventive measures, police teams have also started identifying abandoned cars and long abandoned vehicles parked across the city. These are being cataloged and removed to eliminate potential threats.
ATS sources confirmed that they are closely coordinating with the NIA to get details of seven suspects linked to the New Delhi blast. “We are waiting for the detailed profile. Any link to Coimbatore will be acted upon immediately,” a senior ATS officer said.
With intelligence agencies stepping up sharing of information, security has been beefed up across Coimbatore as officials work to ensure that there is no local connection to the Delhi blast.
-IANS
AL/DPB