Explosion in Mangaluru auto an 'act of terror': Karnataka DGP

The explosion in a moving autorickshaw in Mangaluru on Saturday evening was not accidental but “an act of terror” with the intention to cause serious damage, Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) Praveen Sood said on Sunday.

“Karnataka Police is probing deep into it along with central agencies,” Sood tweeted a day after the low-intensity blast near a police station.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said prima facie the incident looks like an act of terror and that the government will crack the case.

The suspect, identified as Shariq (23) from Teerthahalli, was travelling in an autorickshaw with a pressure cooker fitted with detonator, wires and batteries. Both Shariq and the auto driver are undergoing treatment in a hospital. Shariq suffered 60 per cent burns and is unable to speak.

Shariq, who was previously booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a case related to objectionable graffiti in Mangaluru, was out on bail.

Talking to reporters in Ballari on Sunday, Bommai said an IED-like equipment was used in the incident. Upon checking the records of the individual, it was found that the Aadhaar card recovered from the spot was fake.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other agencies have joined Karnataka Police in the probe.

Bommai said the suspect had travelled to several places, including Coimbatore, which points to a terror connection. Any links with the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) will be known after a thorough investigation.

Following the blast, an NIA team detained Ijaz Ahmed, a PFI leader, from Panemangalore in Bantwal taluk. Police sources told DH that Ahmed, who was released on bail a week ago, was on his way to board a flight to Dubai on Sunday.

A police team from Mangaluru, with help of Mysuru police, arrested another youth, Syed Ahmed. Sources said Syed Ahmed and Shariq together underwent training at a mobile phone centre in Agrahara in Mysuru. Syed had reportedly given more than 10 cellphones to the terror suspect.

Meanwhile, police said Shariq had stayed in a rented house in Mysuru from where they seized raw materials used for the bomb, including circuit board, battery, wires, pressure cooker etc, and two Aadhaar cards.