The statement said that former Karnataka police officer Annamalai should not defame the Tamil Nadu police by spreading untrue exaggerated news and rumours that intelligence agencies had warned us earlier about the Coimbatore car cylinder blast. It is also wrong to claim that the case was handed over late to the NIA.
Coimbatore: The Tamil Nadu police has accused BJP state president Annamalai of continuously spreading rumours and defamatory comments.
In a press release, the Tamil Nadu Police said, "BJP state president Annamalai has been continuously spreading slander against the police. While the investigation is underway, that too the exploded cylinder, and even before examining what the materials collected in the car are, he tries to divert the investigation by making several comments about what it is.
He claims to have sent the case to the NIA late. As soon as such incidents take place, it is the local police who register a case and conduct an investigation. This is the practice followed in all states. This is the law.
If the investigation involves the inclusion of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (UAPA) or a case is registered under sections of the law in the list mentioned in the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, the station house officer, who has booked this case under Section 6 of the NATIONAL Investigation Agency Act, has to immediately submit a report to the state government.
Once the report is received, the state government should inform the Union government at the earliest. On receiving the report, the Union government, within 15 days, depending on the nature of the case, will pass the case to the NATIONAL Investigation Agency. This is the law.
But in practice, it takes a few months for the Union government to get a proposal from the National Investigation Agency and order an inquiry. Till then, the investigation of the case will be carried out by the investigating officer of the police station who has registered the case.
In the case of car cylinder blast in Coimbatore, this legal process was followed properly without any delay and the state government sent a formal report to the Union government, after which the case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency for investigation.
Moreover, in some sensitive cases, the Union Home Ministry may suo motu come forward and order an NIA inquiry. But, in this case, even before the Union government issued an order, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin recommended an NIA probe into the Coimbatore car blast incident.
Where did the delay come from? The cases were handed over to the NIA even a few months later in such incidents in the past. That too in some cases, in some states the documents were handed over to the NIA only after several months.
Now, Annamalai complains that the Ministry of Home Affairs had warned in advance that a sudden bomb incident was going to take place in Coimbatore. This is absurd.
This is because what he is referring to is a general circular sent from the Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi to all state governments and Union Territories.
There is no mention of the Coimbatore incident anywhere. He is trying to create a false image by falsely accusing the circular of warning state governments in advance of a bomb blast and that the police had ignored it.
In the said circular, there is no information about the city of Coimbatore. The regular circular dated 18.10.2022 was received on 21st and immediately communicated to all the cities and district police officers.
Had there been information that the incident was going to be carried out by certain people in Coimbatore, as Annamalai says, the Tamil Nadu police would have arrested certain people at that very moment, searched the houses and seized the explosives.
Therefore, don't defame the Tamil Nadu Police by spreading such untrue exaggerated news and rumours and tarnishing our image being a former Karnataka police officer Annamalai.”