He died on the evening of 16 December.
An official informed that the police had been mobilized in the city in view of the proposed funeral procession of Basa on Tuesday evening.
“He was on parole and was not well of late. He was admitted to a private hospital after his health deteriorated and died on Monday evening after 35 years in jail,” Indian National League Party leader J Rahim said.
Al-Umma’s 84-year-old Basha and 16 others were serving life sentences for the 1998 blasts. He was recently granted parole by the Madras High Court.
The family members of Basha have planned to carry the funeral from South Ukkadam to Haider Ali Tipu Sultan Sunnat Jamaat Masjid at Flower Bazaar, police said, adding that adequate police force has been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
Basha is the founder-chairman of the banned organization al-Uma and masterminded the February 14 series of bombings that killed 58 people. According to the police, 231 people were injured in the blast.
In May 1999, the Special Investigation Team of the Crime Branch CID filed a chargesheet accusing Basha of conspiring to kill BJP leader LK Advani using a suicide squad.
Meanwhile, BJP Tamil Nadu Vice President Narayanan Tirupati has asked the police not to allow the funeral procession, as it will set a bad example in the society if criminals, terrorists, murderers are hailed as martyrs.
“Of course one should allow a cold-blooded killer his last right but it should be done peacefully and not with great respect which they don’t deserve,” Tirupati said in a post on the social media platform. X’.
Radical ideas and violence, and communal problems started with the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts and Basha was the person most responsible for it, he claimed.
Even today, hundreds of people in various political parties and movements were members of the banned al-Ummah.
“This rally may evoke the forgotten memories of 1998 and it may lead to bigger communal issues in future. It is the responsibility of CM @mkstalin to not hold this rally and cremate the dead terrorist Basha.” One should be allowed to perform only with one’s family members and not with any large crowd,” he said.