Chennai blast: Jaya gets territorial, won’t let centre join probe

In an inexplicable move, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has refused to let the National Investigation Agency (NIA) teams from the Centre as well as other Central agencies participate in the probe into the twin blasts at Chennai Central station.

The Times Of India reported that the Union Home Ministry official who contacted the TN chief secretary offering to despatch NIA teams and forensic teams as well as the NSG’s bomb squad was told the TN government is capable of conducting the investigation on its own. The probe is currently being handled by the CID of the state police. The report quotes an MHA official as saying, “Our NIA team continues to stay put at the Hyderabad office and will leave for Chennai as and when the state calls for it… we are particularly interested in examining the explosive material and whether it bears any resemblance to bombs used in the recent blasts… this may help in identifying the outfit behind the explosions.” It also says that the Centre can in fact suo-motu bring the NIA in to probe a terror event in any state jurisdiction. Jayalalithaa has been opposed to the UPA government’s proposal for a centralised anti-terror body. The Indian Express also reported that Jayalalithaa kept the Centre waiting for information on the blasts and did not furnish details. The report points out that Jaya was among the CMs opposed to the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) when it was proposed by the Centre in 2012. She had said then that the “MHA wanted to belittle us (state government) and treat us like pawns on a chessboard”.