Mangaluru, Karnataka: An explosion occurred in a moving auto in Mangaluru on Saturday night. The auto driver and a passenger were injured in the incident. They were admitted to the hospital with burns. Meanwhile, the Karnataka Police on Sunday claimed that it is not an ordinary explosion.
They suspect that there is a sabotage plan behind it. Karnataka DG and IGP Praveen Sood confirmed this in a tweet. The DGP tweeted, “It’s confirmed now. The blast is not accidental but an ACT OF TERROR with intention to cause serious damage. Karnataka State Police is probing deep into it along with central agencies.”
Meanwhile, Karnataka Home Minister Araga Gyanendra said that there are reports of a possible addition of terrorism here. In the investigation, it is revealed that behind this explosion in the auto there is a low-powered IED bomb. The passenger in that auto, who is also the accused, was carrying a pressure cooker. It is reported that there were some suspected explosives inside the pressure cooker. There were four Duracell batteries and two circuit-like wires.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the passenger had a fake Aadhaar card.
Today, it has been confirmed that the accused’s real name is Mohammad Shariq. It was found that Shariq, injured in the cooker bomb blast, had reached Aluva a few weeks before the incident. The State Anti-Terrorism Squad has reached Mangaluru to gather more information in this regard.
The Karnataka Police’s investigation into the case has been extended to Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The investigation is expanding after it was found that the accused Muhammad Shariq had reached both states.
At the same time, the Karnataka police have found that Shariq, who is arrested in the Mangaluru blast case, has links with the international terrorist organization ISIS. In 2020, Mangaluru police arrested Shariq for graffiti supporting the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba on buildings in Mangaluru.