Five convicts serving life sentences at Coimbatore Central Prison in connection with the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blasts have been granted 60 days of parole by the Tamil Nadu prison department under the TVK government, as reported in The New Indian Express.
The five convicts are Mohammed Ansari (58), Mohammed Ali (52), Monappa alias Mohammed Hassan (46), Mohammed Ajam and Nawab Khan. They are among 22 convicts serving life sentences in the case who have been imprisoned for over 30 years.
According to sources, the five were affiliated with the banned fundamentalist terror organisation Al-Umma. Some of them are also reportedly relatives of S A Basha, the terror organisation’s leader and a prime accused in the case.
The Coimbatore serial bomb blasts took place on 14 February 1998, when a series of explosions struck several locations in the city ahead of a scheduled election campaign meeting by senior BJP leader L K Advani. The blasts claimed several lives and left many others injured, making the incident one of the most significant terror attacks in Tamil Nadu’s history.
The subsequent investigation led to the arrest and prosecution of several individuals, many of whom were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
A senior prison department official said the five convicts had been granted parole for 60 days starting Saturday, October 17, on personal grounds. The decision reportedly came after one of the convicts’ mothers passed away.
The official also stated that the five had been granted parole earlier this year, but the orders were subsequently revoked during the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Following fresh petitions by the convicts, the government has now approved their parole again.
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