In a significant breakthrough nearly three decades after a series of bomb blasts in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore claimed 58 lives, a key absconding accused - Tailor Raja - has been arrested by the state police in Karnataka, officials told NDTV.
Raja, also known by aliases Sadiq and Valarntha Raja, was wanted for his alleged role in supplying bombs used in the 1998 blasts that shook Coimbatore and left 200 people injured. The blasts were seen as a coordinated attempt to assassinate senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani, who was scheduled to address an election rally in the city.
Police sources say Raja is an alleged member of the now-banned Islamic extremist outfit Al Ummah. He was reportedly on the run since the blasts, which were one of the most chilling terror attacks in Tamil Nadu's history.
A senior officer confirmed that Raja was traced and arrested after sustained surveillance and intelligence inputs, adding that efforts are now underway to bring him to Coimbatore for further investigation and judicial proceedings.
After a long drawn legal battle, 17 people, including Al Ummah founder S.A. Basha, were sentenced to life imprisonment for their role in the blasts, besides others. However, Raja managed to evade arrest all these years, making him one of the longest-abscoding accused in the case.
