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Al-Umma claims responsibility for bomb scare in Tamil Nadu

N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras

A 'low-intensity' bomb scare spread in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, with the recovery of time-bombs, one each in Coimbatore, Madras and Tiruchi.

All three bombs were recovered from near police establishment, with the Madras bomb discovered close to the city police commissioner's office. A blast was, however, reported from the Government Victoria Hostel in Madras, but the police dismissed it as a likely hoax.

The bombs, made of gelatine sticks and weighing five kg each, were kept in handbags and timed to explode between 0600 and 0700 hours, according to reports received from Coimbatore, the textile city which witnessed serial blasts just before the 1998 general election, and Tiruchi.

"The police have also recovered hand-written notes from near the bombs, with the fundamentalist Islamic group Al-Umma claiming credit for the same," Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said in a statement.

He said the notes were critical of the treatment in prison of Al-Umma activists facing trial in the Coimbatore blasts case. Al-Umma also sought the immediate release of its activists and demanded a ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Hindu Munnani.

"People will identify those who are behind the bomb," Karunanidhi said, adding that his government would invoke the National Security Act if needed. "There is, however, no need for considering a tougher law like the lapsed Prevention of Terrorist Activities Bill on the lines of TADA," he added.

However, an informed source think the intention was not to set off blasts, but only to scare the people. "The bombs were left near police establishments, with greater chances of early recovery," says the source, pointing out that it being "a Sunday, the casualties, if any blasts had occurred, may have been minimal."

More importantly, the source refers to two other aspects. "One, if the instigators were so serious about setting off bombs, they would not have left notes, claiming responsibility, near the bombs. Acknowledged professionals would have known that nothing of those notes would have survived the blasts, if they had occurred."

As he points out, even the Victoria Hostel, the only non-police establishment that may have been targeted, is in the Muslim-dominated Triplicane locality, and is near the Government Kasturba Hospital for Women, frequented by purdah-clad Muslim women.

With the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam scheduling its general council meeting for Wednesday, the blasts may lend a new dimension to the proceedings. The meeting is expected to ratify the leadership's decision to tie up with the Bharatiya Janata Party, for the general election. However, differences do exist over the party favouring the 'communal BJP', thus willing to lose the 'long-loyal minority votebanks.

"The recovery of the bombs may have a message for the general council," says the above-mentioned source.

Comprehending the DMK's predicament, AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha has lately been issuing statements, condemning the state government for alleged atrocities against minorities, particularly Muslims. "She issued a statement only last week, complaining about the alleged ill-treatment of the accused in the Coimbatore blasts case."

Jayalalitha is expected to appear in a Madras court on Monday, for the framing of charges in the Tansi land deal case. A bomb scare in the city and the state would mean increased security for her when she appears in court. Jayalalitha has Z-Plus category security.

Additional reportage: UNI

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