Mangaluru: In a breakthrough in the Mangaluru airport bomb case, the autorickshaw driver who carried the suspect with the improved explosive device (IED) to airport voluntarily came to the police station and recorded a statement here on Tuesday.
Just hours after the city police released photos of the suspect and of the three-wheeler used by him for the travel, the auto driver told police that the suspect, a middle-aged man, had come by a private bus with two bags in his hand.
"After alighting at Kenjar, he kept a bag inside the salon nearby. The salon owner asked the bag to be placed outside. Therefore, he kept the bag outside and travelled to the airport in my autorickshaw," he said.
The suspect asked the driver to wait and went straight to the airport ticket counter at around 8.50 am and placed the bag there. "He was speaking in Tulu.
After reaching Kenjar, he picked up the bag he had left at the salon. During the travel, he did not show any signs of panic or anxiety. He was talking freely. After reaching Pumpwell, he got down after paying the fare of Rs 400," the driver said.
Meanwhile, there is panic over the second bag that the suspect had carried. The IED was found in a laptop bag at the airport on Monday. The security staff who noticed the bag, contacted bomb disposal squad who carried the device to the Kenjar ground where it was defused.
Meanwhile, the bomb incident took a political twist with former Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy doubting the entire case calling it a 'mock show'. He asked the state government not to spin a bomb scare at Mangaluru airport for its advantage. The Karnataka BJP came down heavily on Kumaraswamy for his comments.
“He doubted surgical strikes. He released doctored CDs to show that Peaceful Protesters didn't indulge in violence. Now he is blaming Police for the live bomb diffused in Mangaluru. Is there no end to Appeasement Politics by former CM @hd_kumaraswamy? Why cry for Jihadis?” hit back BJP with a tweet from its official handle.
