COIMBATORE: After evading arrest for 27 years, A Sadiq, 50, a key accused in the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case, was on Wednesday arrested from a vegetable market at Vijayapura in Karnataka.
Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Coimbatore police camped in Vijayapura and monitored the movement of Sadiq, who is also known as 'Tailor Raja'.
On Wednesday, the team arrested Sadiq from his shop at the market and brought him to Coimbatore. He was handed over to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Coimbatore, who kept him in a heavily guarded building on the Police Recruit School premises
According to sources, Sadiq was residing at Bilal Estate at Ukkadam, Coimbatore, in 1998. A hardcore Al-Umma cadre, Sadiq played a key role in the serial bomb blasts. A source added that he was also an expert in making IEDs (improvised explosive devices).
Sadiq had rented a house at Vallal Nagar in Coimbatore, where bombs were manufactured and stored in 1998. He distributed the bombs to several Al-Umma cadres from Feb 12 to 14, 1998.
Following the serial bomb blasts on Feb 14, 1998, Sadiq escaped to Hubballi in Karnataka, where he worked as a daily wage labourer. He married a woman there and had three children. "He moved to Vijayapura with his family 15 years ago, and changed his name to Shajahan. He possessed an Aadhaar card, driving licence and other documents under the name Shajahan. Initially, he worked at the market and later ran a shop there. He had been selling chillies for the past 15 years," a police officer said.
'Sadiq denied involvement in bomb blast case during inquiry'
During interrogation, Sadiq denied involvement in the serial bomb blast case, the officer said, adding that he was shocked about how the police traced his whereabouts
Sadiq underwent a medical examination at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital before being produced before the judicial magistrate court-V. He was remanded in judicial custody till July 24 and subsequently lodged at the Coimbatore central prison. The ATS plans to take him into custody soon for further investigation.
The serial bomb blasts claimed 58 lives and injured 250 people. Sadiq was also involved in the 1996 petrol bomb attack in Coimbatore, which resulted in the death of jail warden Boopalan. He was also involved in the murder of Sayeetha in Nagore in 1996 and the 1997 murder of jailor Jayaprakash in Madurai.
Meanwhile, chief minister M K Stalin tweeted on his X handle Thursday evening, stating that after the Dravidian model government came to power, the ATS was formed in 2023 exclusively to focus on anti-terror activities.
The ATS recently arrested three terrorists who had been evading arrest for around three decades from the state police, Union government's intelligence organizations, and other state police forces. He appreciated the ATS, Intelligence Section (IS), Coimbatore city police, and the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh police.
Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Coimbatore police camped in Vijayapura and monitored the movement of Sadiq, who is also known as 'Tailor Raja'.
On Wednesday, the team arrested Sadiq from his shop at the market and brought him to Coimbatore. He was handed over to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Coimbatore, who kept him in a heavily guarded building on the Police Recruit School premises
According to sources, Sadiq was residing at Bilal Estate at Ukkadam, Coimbatore, in 1998. A hardcore Al-Umma cadre, Sadiq played a key role in the serial bomb blasts. A source added that he was also an expert in making IEDs (improvised explosive devices).
Sadiq had rented a house at Vallal Nagar in Coimbatore, where bombs were manufactured and stored in 1998. He distributed the bombs to several Al-Umma cadres from Feb 12 to 14, 1998.
Following the serial bomb blasts on Feb 14, 1998, Sadiq escaped to Hubballi in Karnataka, where he worked as a daily wage labourer. He married a woman there and had three children. "He moved to Vijayapura with his family 15 years ago, and changed his name to Shajahan. He possessed an Aadhaar card, driving licence and other documents under the name Shajahan. Initially, he worked at the market and later ran a shop there. He had been selling chillies for the past 15 years," a police officer said.
'Sadiq denied involvement in bomb blast case during inquiry'
During interrogation, Sadiq denied involvement in the serial bomb blast case, the officer said, adding that he was shocked about how the police traced his whereabouts
Sadiq underwent a medical examination at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital before being produced before the judicial magistrate court-V. He was remanded in judicial custody till July 24 and subsequently lodged at the Coimbatore central prison. The ATS plans to take him into custody soon for further investigation.
The serial bomb blasts claimed 58 lives and injured 250 people. Sadiq was also involved in the 1996 petrol bomb attack in Coimbatore, which resulted in the death of jail warden Boopalan. He was also involved in the murder of Sayeetha in Nagore in 1996 and the 1997 murder of jailor Jayaprakash in Madurai.
Meanwhile, chief minister M K Stalin tweeted on his X handle Thursday evening, stating that after the Dravidian model government came to power, the ATS was formed in 2023 exclusively to focus on anti-terror activities.
The ATS recently arrested three terrorists who had been evading arrest for around three decades from the state police, Union government's intelligence organizations, and other state police forces. He appreciated the ATS, Intelligence Section (IS), Coimbatore city police, and the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh police.
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