The Hindu : Police pursuing clues to petrol bomb attack

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 01, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Police pursuing clues to petrol bomb attack

By V.S. Palaniappan

As part of stepped up security, police personnel checking passenger baggage aboard a bus, bound for Coimbatore from Kerala, on Tuesday. — Photo: K. Ananthan

Coimbatore Dec. 31. The Coimbatore city police special teams have made significant progress in the investigation into the hurling of a petrol bomb on a TNSTC bus and planting of a bomb in front of the Coimbatore Press Club on Monday, according to highly-placed police sources.

The police brass today reviewed the stepped up security arrangements and the progress made. They are said to be contemplating invoking stringent laws, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act, against those responsible for the incidents.

The police did not rule out the possibility of links between the petrol bomb attack and the bomb planting case. A number of letters addressed to the newspaper offices were found in a black colour bag, which contained explosives. Accusing it of rendering injustice to members of a minority community, the letters, claimed to have written by Al-Umma, Chennai and Al-Jaheera, Mumbai, said that if the police continued to behave in the same manner, Tamil Nadu would have to face the consequences.

Preliminary investigations revealed that a pre-paid cellular SIM card was used for making calls to the police and newspaper offices. The teams are pursuing definite clues to the buyer of the card from a shop in the city.

The teams fanned out to destinations in Kerala, the IGP (West Zone), Narinder Pal Singh, and the Police Commissioner, Sanjay Arora, said.

The Coimbatore Rural Police have arranged for checking of Kerala-bound vehicles from Coimbatore at Walayar, Velandavazham, Meenakshipuram and Anaikatti. The Coimbatore City Police have got additional manpower from the Tamil Nadu Special Police battalions in Palani, Madurai and Tiruchi.

`PDP not for violence'

Abdul Nasir Maudany, the People's Democratic Party leader and accused in the serial blasts case, in a statement issued to the media through his counsel, M.H. Abdur Rehman, said that the PDP never believed in violence and believed only in democratic and legal process. He neither believed in attacking public property nor in creating panic among the public for the excesses committed by the police against his wife.

The miscreants chose to wean away the media from supporting the Muslims in general and the PDP in particular by planting explosive near the Press Club. "All these measures were aimed at pre-empting the bail application, which I had proposed to move before the Supreme Court in the coming month," he added.

In a separate fax message, Mrs.Sofiya Maudany accused the police of trying to divert the public attention, emerging in the wake of human rights violations against her husband. As advised by her husband, she would seek justice against the "errant" police officials by filing complaints in court.

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