The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday began a probe into the Coimbatore cylinder explosion incident near a temple that killed one person on October 23, news agency PTI reported.
The team of seven officials led by NIA SP, Srijith, arrived at the spot and inspected the area to collect evidence, as well as inquired about the incident with the priest of the Kottai Eswaran Temple, police said.
The City Police who investigated the case have handed over all evidence to the NIA. On Thursday, the Centre, on the recommendation of the state government, handed over the case to the premier investigation agency that probes terror-related matters, which filed an FIR on Friday, The Indian Express reported.
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Six people have so far been arrested in connection with the case, including alleged associates of the deceased.
The deceased has been identified as Jamesha Mubeen, a 29-year-old engineering graduate, who was killed when his car, loaded with two gas cylinders, exploded at the Ukkadam area in Coimbatore. The NIA team also plans to visit his house which is a few metres away from the spot.
Earlier, the Tamil Nadu police had recovered four diaries from Mubeen’s house. Among the entries in his diaries handwritten in Tamil were a flowchart with names of Gods from other religions, entries on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the hijab row, and notes on Muslims as “second-class citizens”, The Indian Express learnt.
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A crucial piece of evidence that the police recovered his residence was a slate with a green frame with an ISIS symbol drawn on it, said an officer part of the probe, to IE.