TN Police Officer Recalls the Horror of Bomb blasts in Coimbatore on its 22nd Anniversary!

In 1998, after the killing of a policeman named Selvaraj by some religious groups in an incident in Coimbatore city, a protest held in the city turned into riots and two men, allegedly part of Al Ummah along with 17 others were killed.

On 14 February 1998 Al Ummah orchestrated deadly blasts in Coimbatore. It was targeted at the BJP Leader L.K Advani whose election campaign was scheduled at Coimbatore on the date.

Mr Rajamanikkam, Retd. Asst Commissioner of Police recalled the tragic moments of 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts on its 22nd Anniversary.

He called 14 February 1998 as a black day for Coimbatore city that took the lives of 60+ people and injured more than 500 civilians.

14 February 1998

Rajamanikkam who had been serving as the Inspector in Ukkadam, Coimbatore,  was deployed to take guard of the stage where Mr Advani had to address a crowd. Since Mr Advani's flight was delayed, Rajamanikkam reached out to the nearby telephone booth to talk to his wife in Trichy. He said, "Within two minutes I came out of the telephone booth, it blasted into pieces with a loud noise".

The incident was followed by a series of blasts that killed and injured many civilians. "When we tried to arrest the terrorists hiding in Babulal complex, 6 suicide squad attackers died," added Rajamanickam. Later 8 people who were involved in the blasts were arrested by the police.

In 2002, Mr Rajamanikkam was conferred with Gold Medal by then Chief Minister J Jayalalitha for his act of bravery during the 1998 Coimbatore blasts.