Chennai: Tamil Nadu BJP President, K. Annamalai, has said that systemic police had failed miserably in preventing the Coimbatore car blast.
He was speaking to media persons after offering thanksgiving prayers at Sangameswarar temple, Kottai, Coimbatore for saving the city from the ‘terror attack’. The BJP state president lauded the Coimbatore police for the swift response as soon as the blast took place. He said that if the blast had taken place as planned by those behind the crime, Coimbatore city would have gone 20 years behind.
K. Annamalai, a former IPS officer himself, said that some mistakes had taken place and that it was his duty as a political leader to point this out. He said that in July 2022, there was an alert from the Central Intelligence Agencies that named 96 IS sympathizers of which the 89th name was Jameesha Mubin.
He said that the Tamil Nadu police did not put him on its watch list and this was what he was referring to as a ‘systemic failure’ of the police.
The BJP leader also made it clear that the Central agencies had again sounded warning on October 18 and not on October 21 as stated by the state of Tamil Nadu. He also said that the alert sounded by the Central agencies was not a general alert and was a specific alert and added that three cities were mentioned as vulnerable to attack. He said that the alert has also specifically said that it could be a lone wolf attack
He also clarified that NIA’s First Information Report has stated that the blast was perpetrated using high-grade explosives and not low-grade explosives as said by the Tamil Nadu DG of Police.
The BJP leader also refused to tender an apology in referring to media persons as monkeys and said that he was right in doing so.
Annamalai also thanked the Tamil Nadu minister, K.N. Nehru, for stating that BJP was in third place in the state and refused to comment on other parties.
–IANS