In a joint operation led by the Intelligence Bureau, a Coimbatore police special team, with the help of the Andhra Pradesh police, stormed the hideout of Abubacker Siddique, who had been in hiding since 1998 after the Coimbatore blasts, and arrested him on June 30. They also arrested another fugitive, Mohammed Ali aka Yunus aka Mansoor, along with the 60-year-old Siddique.
According to intelligence sources, the duo had been under surveillance for some time, and after confirming that he was indeed the man wanted in several bomb blasts in Tamil Nadu, a joint operation was planned with the Tamil Nadu police special team and the assistance of the Andhra Pradesh police was sought. The special team had been searching for Abubacker Siddique for the last 30 years, and a reward of Rs 5 lakh had been announced for anyone who could provide information leading to his arrest or hideout.
தமிழ்நாடு காவல் துறை
30 ஆண்டுகளாக தலைமறைவாக இருந்த தீவிரவாதிகள் தமிழ்நாடு காவல் துறையினரால் கைது#CMMKSTALIN | #DyCMUdhay | #TNDIPR |@CMOTamilnadu @mkstalin@mp_saminathan @tnpoliceoffl pic.twitter.com/RtRP9Mn9Zr— TN DIPR (@TNDIPRNEWS) July 1, 2025
The joint team, monitored by a senior intelligence officer, stormed Siddique’s hideout near Kadapa in Annamayya district in Andhra Pradesh, last evening and apprehended him. He denied being the wanted man, claiming it was a case of mistaken identity. Sources said they had a photograph taken some 30 years ago, and there was difficulty in identifying him. It took some time, and he was subjected to questioning by the Anti-Terror Squad.
Abubacker Siddique has been accused in multiple high-profile cases, including the 1995 Hindu Munnani office blast in Chintadripet, Chennai; a 1995 parcel bomb explosion in Nagore that killed a man named Thangam; and in 1999, aiding in planting bombs across seven locations in Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, and Kerala — including at the Chennai Police Commissionerate in Egmore. He was also involved in the 2011 pipe bomb planting attempt targeting Deputy PM L.K. Advani’s cavalcade in Madurai; the 2012 murder of Dr Aravind Reddy in Vellore; and the 2013 bomb blast near the BJP office in Malleswaram, Bengaluru.
It is learnt that Siddique, a master bomb-maker and expert in ballistics, trained Fakruddin Ali and other Al Umma terrorists.
As per sources, Fakruddin and Bilal Mallick, close associates of slain terrorist Imam Ali, had begun hatching the conspiracy once the schedule of Advani’s yatra was announced. A powerful pipe bomb was unearthed from under a bridge and defused on October 27, 2012 at Alampatti village, about 30 km from Madurai, on the route of Advani’s yatra.
Siddique, of the banned Al Umma, had been evading arrest since 1997 but remained active from various hideouts. Most recently, he had been staying in a house in Annamayya district, where he was apprehended on June 30.
This marks a major breakthrough for the police and intelligence agencies. His arrest is expected to shed light on the terror acts he carried out in Tamil Nadu and other southern districts. In all the bomb explosions, Siddique and Fakruddin were co-accused.
A Tamil Nadu government release confirmed their arrest. It said, “Nagoor Abubacker Siddique and Tirunelveli Mohammed Ali have been arrested by a special team in Annamayya district in Andhra Pradesh last evening. They were responsible for various bomb explosions from 1995 onwards in Tamil Nadu and for other religion-related clashes, murders, conspiracies to eliminate Hindu leaders, and for carrying out terror-related activities in the state. They had been in hiding since 1995. Another accused, Mohammed Ali, a resident of Melapalayam in Tirunelveli, was also arrested along with Siddique. He had been with Siddique for the past 25–26 years and had been in hiding. He was responsible for seven blasts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in 1999. He was the mastermind and prime accused in the serial blasts. Both the arrested men have been produced before a court in Chennai on July 1 and have been remanded in judicial custody.”
Critics say that, after months of surveillance, the IB and the special team risked their lives to capture them unharmed. But the courts, citing the “bail is the rule and jail is the exception” doctrine, may release them on humanitarian grounds. After securing bail, they are likely to resume the activities for which they were trained and to which they had dedicated their lives.
Comments