Kovai Hindu outfit leaders get armed protection

The police have also launched a hunt for two more absconding men, who were reportedly part of the gang. Based on the confession of those arrested, police identified the duo as ‘Auto’ Faizal and Anwar, both said to be friends of Ashik, who was detained with four others at the Coimbatore railway station on Saturday.

The five were interrogated and then arrested under several sections of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Police sources said they had hatched a conspiracy to kill Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) leader Arjun Sampath and Sakthi Sena leader Anbu Mari.

The arrested men confessed to have targeted Hindu outfit leaders, who spoke against Islam.

Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has decided to take over the probe into the case as it involves a larger terror network, said a senior police officer. 

Inquiries revealed that the mastermind behind the conspiracy, identified as Ismail (25) of Villupuram, had allegedly shared information on the banned IS group on social media.

Further, Ismail, who runs a waste paper mart, had stuck a sticker with the name ‘Islamic State of India and Jammu & Kashmir’ on his two-wheeler.

Police sources said that the all the arrested men had befriended each other through Facebook and WhatsApp.