Chennai, July 10 (IANS) In a breakthrough in the decades-old Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case, Tamil Nadu police have arrested ‘Tailor’ Raja, one of the prime accused who had been absconding for 27 years.

He was picked up from Vijayapura district in Karnataka on Wednesday by a joint team of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Coimbatore City Police.

Raja, 50, was brought to Coimbatore under tight security and produced before the Fifth Judicial Magistrate Court on Thursday.

The court remanded him in judicial custody till July 24.

Raja, whose real name is believed to be Shahjahan Abdul Majid Makandar, is also known as Sadiq, ‘Valarntha’ Raja, and Shahjahan Shaik.

A long-time member of the banned terror outfit Al Ummah, he is accused of playing a critical role in the February 14, 1998, serial bomb blasts that rocked Coimbatore, killing 58 people and injuring more than 250.

The coordinated bombings, reportedly aimed at assassinating senior BJP leader L. K. Advani, marked one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Tamil Nadu’s history.

The bombs exploded across various locations in Coimbatore just before Advani was scheduled to address an election rally.

According to police sources, Raja originally hailed from Bilal Estate in South Ukkadam, Coimbatore.

He had reportedly been underground since 1996, evading arrest for almost three decades despite his alleged involvement in a string of violent incidents.

Apart from the 1998 blasts, Raja is suspected to be linked to multiple other terror and communal violence cases across Tamil Nadu. These include the 1996 Molotov cocktail attack in Coimbatore that killed jail warder Boopalan, the murder of Sayeetha in Nagore in the same year, and the 1997 killing of jailor Jayaprakash in Madurai.

Raja’s arrest follows the recent capture of two other absconding accused, Abubacker Siddique and Mohamed Ali alias Yunus, from Andhra Pradesh’s Annamayya district.

Both were key figures in Al Ummah-related terror cases.

“This is the third major arrest of a long-absconding accused in recent months and represents a significant step forward in delivering justice to the victims of terror,” a senior police officer said.

With Raja now in custody, investigators are hopeful that further leads may emerge on the dormant networks and sleeper cells of Al Ummah that once operated in Tamil Nadu.

–IANS

aal/svn