Last Updated: October 23, 2022, 2:59 PM IST
Six special teams under Coimbatore Commissioner V Balakrishnan are probing the incident. (Photo: Shutterstock)
DGP C Sylendra Babu said probe is on from various angles to ascertain if the incident was an accident or a ‘conspiracy’
One person was charred to death when a gas cylinder in a car in which he was travelling exploded in a communally sensitive area in the city on Sunday, prompting the state’s top cop to rush here and take stock of the situation. DGP C Sylendra Babu said probe is on from various angles to ascertain if the incident was an accident or a ‘conspiracy’, when asked by reporters in this connection, even as the identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained.
The incident happened near the Kottai Easwaran Temple and all the shops in the vicinity were closed and a large number of police personnel have been deployed in the area. Being a communally sensitive area, a tense situation prevailed in the Ukkadam locality where the explosion happened in the early hours of Sunday. “There were two cylinders and one exploded. We are investigating from where it was purchased. The car involved has changed ownership (many times) and we are tracing the owner. The identity of the deceased is being ascertained and investigation is on. The probe is on under the supervision of senior officials,” the police chief said.
Six special teams under Coimbatore Commissioner V Balakrishnan are probing the incident, even as the bomb disposal squad from the Tamil Nadu Commando School has joined the investigation. Asked about the possibility of a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the matter, Babu said nothing can be said about that now.
To a question on finding stones and nails from the mangled remains of the car, he said that all the details will be known after investigation as bomb disposal squad, forensic experts and sniffer dogs have been pressed into service. On reports that a gas leak from the cylinder led to the explosion soon after the vehicle went past a speed breaker, he said all angles, including conspiracy, will be investigated and conclusion could be arrived at only after the completion of the probe. The body recovered by the Fire and Rescue Department personnel has been sent tor postmortem, police said.
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