Chennai: Tamil Nadu police are on high alert after a 25-year-old youth was killed in a gas cylinder blast in front of the Kottai Easwaran temple at Ukkadam, Coimbatore on Saturday. The police identified the deceased as Jameesh Mubin, who was questioned by the central anti-terror agency over alleged ISIS links in 2019
Terror links are at the centre of the Tamil Nadu police's investigation into the gas cylinder blast in a car after huge quantities of explosives were found at the victim's house.
The police are not ruling out the possibility of a planned attack using the two cylinders in the car of which one had exploded. A search at his house later in the day led to the recovery of "low-intensive explosive material", including potassium nitrate, aluminium powder, charcoal, and sulphur - used for making country bombs.
Those seemed to be meant for "future plans", said Tamil Nadu police chief C Sylendra Babu informed the media on Sunday.
Besides, vehicle nails, marbles, and other things were found in the car that exploded and those are being examined by the forensic department, said the top officer.
As per reports, the victim's associates are being interrogated and more arrests are likely.
The police also claimed that the NIA had interrogated the youth for his involvement with ISIS and other Islamic organisations.
Six special cells of the police teams have been deployed to crack the case and sources in the police told IANS that identifying the body was a herculean task.
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