Coimbatore, July 11: Taylor Raja, also known as Shahjahan Sheikh (47), who had been absconding for 28 years in connection with the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blast case, has been arrested and remanded in judicial custody until July 24. The blasts, which occurred in 1998, resulted in 58 deaths and over 250 injuries.Taylor Raja, a resident of Karumbukadai, Coimbatore, was a key figure in the Al-Ummah organization, whose leader, Basha, and over 120 others were previously arrested and sentenced in connection with the blasts. Raja had been declared a wanted criminal by the Coimbatore court.
Police investigations revealed that Raja had been living under various aliases, including Sadiq, Raja, Valarndha Raja, Shahjahan, and Abdul Majeed, and had evaded arrest by constantly moving between Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and other states for nearly three decades.
In addition to the Coimbatore blast case, Taylor Raja also faces charges in other significant cases. These include the 1996 petrol bomb attack in Coimbatore that led to the death of jailer Boopalan, the murder of Saeeda in Nagore in 1997, and the murder of prison officer Jayaprakash in Madurai in 1997.
The breakthrough in the case came when the Coimbatore Anti-Terrorism Division, led by Superintendent of Police Badri Narayanan, arrested Abubakkar Siddique and Mohammed Ali in Annamaya, Andhra Pradesh, in connection with another case. Their interrogation provided crucial information that led to the identification of Taylor Raja’s hiding place in Vijayapura, Karnataka.
Police swiftly raided the location and apprehended Raja. He was brought back to Coimbatore under tight security and questioned at a secret location. Following his interrogation, he was produced before the Coimbatore court. Magistrate Virgin Vesta ordered his judicial remand until July 24. Subsequently, he was transferred to Coimbatore Central Prison under strict security measures.
Police officials stated that Taylor Raja was a significant perpetrator in the Coimbatore blast incident and is implicated in numerous other cases, including three murder charges. They plan to seek his custody for further interrogation to uncover more information.