Al-Umma activists were given shelter in Vijayawada

COIMBATORE: Prosecution counsel T Balasundaram, continuing his arguments in the serial blasts case before Special Court Judge K Uthirapathy on Friday, said soon after the serial blasts, few activists of the banned outfit Al-Umma sought refuge in an enclave in Vijayawada.

Siddick Ali, Muhammed Subair and Jahir Hussain were given shelter by Abdul Rehman and Abdul Azeez in Rammohan enclave in Vijayawada. A police raid at the enclave saw Abdul Rehman and Abdul Azeez land in police custody while the others managed to escape.

The explosive materials used for making the bombs were stored in Saravana Complex in Coimbatore. Police had recovered the materials from the complex after the serial blasts.

The prosecution counsel further said three Al-Umma men had concealed the box, containing the bomb, inside a gunny bag, which was deposited in front of a sweet shop with the help of load men.

This bomb did not go off on February 14 and the employees of the shop, who found the gunny bag, shoved it inside before closing the shop. The next day, the shop owner informed the police, who recovered the bomb during the search operation and later defused it at Madukarai shooting range.

On February 19, police recovered a bomb from the drainage at the intersection of Thomas Street and Raja Veedhi. The prosecution named the two Al-Umma men who planted the bomb there. Defence counsel P Thirumalairajan and Bhavani B Mohan pointed out that Saravana Complex had been under the watchful eyes of the police well before the serial blasts.

Inspector Murali of B1 police station had inspected Saravana Complex a few times before the serial blasts. After the blasts, police did not break open the door to enter the complex; they opened the door and went in, the defence counsel said.