A moving autorickshaw exploded on Saturday in Karnataka's Mangaluru, causing fire and heavy smoke, and the driver and a passenger were among those who sustained burn injuries.
The incident which was initially believed to be a technical glitch in the vehicle, has now turned out to be an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast that is suspected to have been “an act of terror with intention to cause serious damage,” Praveen Sood, Director General and Inspector General of Police, Karnataka.
The autorickshaw passenger who was carrying the IED, is the main suspect in the Mangaluru blast. He has been identified as 24-year-old Mohammed Shariq.
Here are 10 things you need to know about the prime accused:
Mohammed Shariq is a resident of Thirthahalli in the Malnad region of Karnataka.
Police allege that he has Islamic State leanings and is an associate of a prominent member of Al Hind, a Karnataka and Tamil Nadu-based Islamic State-leaning terror module busted by the NIA in 2020.
Shariq was trained in the making of Improvised Explosive Devices that could be triggered by timer devices
The accused had learnt making bombs through PDF files and videos.
Shariq was previously booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for graffiti on the walls in Mangaluru. He was arrested by Mangaluru City Police in 2020 over graffiti, in support of Lashakr-e-Taiba and Taliban, and was later released on bail.
He is a wanted terror-accused who has been on the run for many months now. The NIA and Karnataka Police have been looking for him at least from September 2022.
In September, Shariq had stayed in Coimbatore in western Tamil Nadu and also purchased a mobile phone SIM card there.
Shariq had rented a room on the outskirts of Mysuru, a month and a half ago, using a forged Aadhar card of a person who had lost his card in Hubballi.
Shariq, the passenger in the auto-rickshaw, was carrying a low-intensity Improvised Explosive device or IED.
Police teams that raided the house on Sunday recovered explosive materials, circuit boards, chemicals, and other items similar to those used in the IED.
