Chennai: Police informed that an accused who was arrested following the Coimbatore blast had reached Kerala before the incident. An accused Firoz Ismayil reportedly revealed to the police that he had arrived Kerala to meet Mohammad Asarudeen and Rashid Ali, who were the accused in the Easter bombing in Sri Lanka.

Mohammad Asarudeen and Rashid Ali are currently lodged in Viyyur prison. Their IS links were confirmed following the Easter bombing in Sri Lanka in April 2019. Firoz said that he visited them at Viyyur jail.

The National Investigation Agency has noted the alleged links of IS behind the blast reported on October 23 near the Kottai Eswaran temple in Coimbatore. It has been hinted that another terrorist organisation Al Ummah has also connections with the blast.

Tamil Nadu police have handed over the investigation of the case to NIA in view of the gravity of the case. More arrests and interrogations are expected in the case in the upcoming days.