Coimbatore bomb blast case accused arrested by Tamil Nadu Police after 29 years

In a major breakthrough for authorities probing multiple terrorist incidents, the Anti-Terrorism squad of the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu announced the arrest of Sadiq Raja, a key accused. Acting on specific and credible intelligence, a special team of Anti-Terrorism Squad and Coimbatore City Police arrested the accused at Vijayapura district, Karnataka. The said accused is a native of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and a member of the banned terror outfit Al Ummah. He has been absconding for the past 29 years.

The accused was known by several aliases such as Sadiq Raja, Tailor Raja, Valarntha Raja, Shahjahan Abdul Majid Makandar, Shahjahan Shaik. He is a key accused in the Coimbatore bomb blast case and communal murder cases across Tamil Nadu. The 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts claimed 58 lives, injured 250 persons. Sadiq Raja reportedly played a crucial logistical role in the 1998 Coimbatore bombings, which were carried out a day prior to BJP leader LK Advani's public event there. The 1998 Coimbatore bomb blast is regarded among the most dastardly attacks in the Southern Indian state.

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Sadiq Raja is also wanted in connection in with a 1996 petrol bomb(Molotov cocktail) attack in Coimbatore, which resulted in the death of Jail Warden Boopalan; the 1996 Sayeetha murder case in Nagore; and the 1997 murder of Jailor Jayaprakash in Madurai.

In recent weeks, the Anti-Terrorism Squad, in coordination with the Coimbatore City Police, has arrested India’s most wanted accused Abu backer Siddique and Mohamed Ali alias Yunus from Annamayya District in Andhra Pradesh. The arrest of Sadiq alias Tailor Raja from Vijayapura district, Karnataka marks the third successful apprehension of a long-absconding accused involved in terror-related cases, Tamil Nadu police said.