'Decision on handing over M'luru blast case to NIA in 2 days'

Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has said that the decision on handing over the Mangaluru autorickshaw blast case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will be taken within two days.

Jnanendra was speaking to mediapersons after chairing a review meeting at the commissioner’s office in the city on Wednesday. He said that the NIA and other central agencies had been working with the Karnataka police in connection with the Mangaluru blast from Day One.

On the demand for setting up an NIA office in the port city, the minister said that the centre’s attention had been drawn to the issue.

DG&IGP Praveen Sood said that any case that was registered under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) is brought to the notice of the NIA and all details are shared with them.

“Karnataka police sent all the information to the NIA on Tuesday through the home ministry. The case will be handed over to the NIA at an appropriate time,” he added. “We are also coordinating with the police teams in Coimbatore and Kochi,” the minister said.

Earlier, the minister visited the site where the blast had occurred in a moving autorickshaw at Nagori in Mangaluru.

Jnanendra later visited the private hospital where blast suspect Mohammed Shariq and auto driver Purushotham are undergoing treatment.