Coimbatore blast convict brags about his plan to kill PM Modi, arrested again

COIMBATORE: A Coimbatore bomb blast case convict, out after serving his prison term, was arrested on Monday after an audio clip of his telephonic conversation with a truck contractor in which he is heard saying he was planning to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi surfaced.

Mohamed Rafiq, 53, from Kuniyamuthur has been booked on two counts of IPC sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity among different groups on grounds of religion) and 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation). He was produced before Judicial Magistrate VI R Rajavelu and remanded in judicial custody.

Rafiq was convicted for various charges, including criminal conspiracy, in the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case and came out of prison in 2007 after serving his term. Since then, he was booked under several cases and was under the surveillance of police.

In the 8-minute telephonic conversation with a Salem based truck contractor, identified as Prakash, Rafiq is heard saying, “We have decided to kill PM Modi. We were the ones who planted bombs during (BJP leader) L K Advani’s visit to Coimbatore in 1998.”

Though the context of the conversation is yet to be established clearly, it was about a financial dealing involving vehicles owned by Prakash and held by Rafiq. The conversation starts with Prakash asking Rafiq to return his vehicle and the latter demanding Rs 5 lakh for it.

Rafiq says the only way to solve the issue is to pay him the money. “You should understand that I’m not scared of anyone,’’ Rafiq says when Prakash brings up the name of Modi into the conversation. “It appears that you will not be scared even of Modi,’’ Prakash is heard saying, to which Rafiq says, “Yes. We have planned to kill Modi.”

Rafiq continues, claiming that he had been to almost all prisons in Tamil Nadu and that he had been booked under the Goondas Act, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and the National Security Act. “I have seen all the prisons,’’ Rafiq says and goes on stating that even police were well aware of him.

Police say preliminary inquiries have revealed that Rafiq’s statements were only a case of bravado to intimidate Prakash and there was no murder conspiracy. “Rafiq told us during probe that he was only threatening Prakash and there was no conspiracy to kill the Prime Minister,’’ said a police officer from the Special Intelligence Unit.

Hence, police have booked him only for criminal intimidation of Prakash and not severe sections that such statements usually attract. Rafiq admitted to police that it was his voice and authenticated the audio clip. “He told us that Prakash provoked him to make such statements,’’ the officer said.

City commissioner of police K Periaiah, however, said that further investigations are on.