Coimbatore: The combing operation at a building on Thirumal Street, in which six suspects were killed and two policemen injured on February 15, 1998, was a story concocted by the prosecution to link the Al-Umma with the serial blasts, defence counsel Mohammed Abubacker has alleged.

He was arguing before the Judge of the Special Court for Bomb Blast cases, K. Uthirapathy here on Tuesday.

Mr. Abubacker wondered how the police could have gone in search of the Al-Umma on February 15, 1998, when it had not ascertained which organisation was behind the blasts.

Three independent witnesses examined by the prosecution had said nothing about the encounter. There was no documentary evidence. The prosecution had also failed to come clear on the seizures made from the building.

According to the charge sheet, a team led by the then City Police Commissioner raided many places on February 15, 1998. After spotting some movement on top of the building, the team went there.

In the ensuing encounter, the suspects hurled pipe bombs at the police, injuring two policemen. Six suspects hiding in a bathroom were killed in a bomb explosion.

Mr. Abubacker said if there had been a blast in the building, it would have been damaged. This was not the case. And there were no bloodstains on the walls. Seizure records said broken pieces of PVC pipes and other materials had been recovered. Other documents made no mention about the recovery.

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