Kochi, Tuesday, December 22, 2009: After days of investigations into the Kozhikode twin blast case that rocked the state in 2006, the National Investigation Agency has submitted an FIR in connection with the case before CBI Special Court in Kochi.

In the report submitted by the federal agency there are eight accused in the case, LeT operative Thadiyantavide Nazir who is in the custody of Karnataka police is the first accused, second accused is Muhammed Azhar and Abdul Halim has been placed as the third accused. The FIR also says that, the terror cases registered in the state are connected to each other.

The NIA decided to take over the case reportedly as it was found that some people outside Kerala too might have been involved in the blasts.

After the international links of the terror modules involved in the blast were exposed, following the arrest of terrorists Tadiyantavide Nasir and Shafaz in Bangladesh, it is deemed to be a case fit to be investigated by the premier investigation agency.

The involvement of Nasir in the blasts was proven beyond doubt after the arrest of Halim, an associate of Nasir who also was involved in the crime. The investigating officials have been convinced that the bombs used for the blasts were made with the assistance of Nasir, who had confessed to his link with Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The Kozhikode blasts has taken place on 3rd March ,2006 in two bus stands of the city. Two policemen and a porter were injured in the blasts.

A breakthrough in the Kozhikode blast case came after Abdul Sattar alias E T Zainuddin, an electronics engineer and a native of Malappuram who is based in Hyderabad, was arrested in January 2008 on charges of making the timer-fitted bombs which were used in the Bangalore blasts of July 2008.

He exposed Nazir’s role in the Kozhikode blasts which is believed to have been carried out as a curtain- raiser for the Bangalore blasts. Meanwhile, Abdul Halim, another accused who was arrested by the police, confessed that the blast was planned by Nazir.

The NIA suspects that Nazir conducted the Kozhikode blasts as a trial to convince his masters, who are operating from abroad, of his capability to handle such tasks. The NIA team is expected to arrive in the state soon.