Mangaluru blast ‘an act of terror’, says DGP; injured passenger suspect | Mangaluru News – Times of India

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MANGALURU: The low-intensity blast that injured two people in Mangaluru on Saturday evening is not “an accident but an act terror”, Karnataka police has said, even as a team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) landed in the coastal city and began its probe.
Two people were injured in the blast that occurred in an autorickshaw at Nagori in Kankanady Town police station limits. While the identity of the passenger is yet to be established, police sources said he had faked his identity and is suspected to have links to terror outfits.

M’luru blast ‘act of terror’; injured passenger suspect

Shivamogga police claimed that one Shariq from Soppugudde of Thirthahalli town, about 340km from Bengaluru, is a suspect in the case. Shariq, who has been absconding for a couple of months after his associates were arrested, could either be the injured passenger or could have played a role in it.
A suspect in the case was living under an assumed name in Mysuru for 6-7 months, local police said. The room he lived in was raided and explosives and circuitry potent to trigger blasts were seized.
Mangaluru police commissioner N Shashi Kumar said a preliminary probe revealed that the passenger came to Mangaluru from Mysuru.
He got into an autorickshaw near Nagori and told the driver, Purushotham, that he wanted to be dropped at Pumpwell, Mangaluru. The passenger was aged around 25 years and travelled for about a kilometre before the blast took place. The passenger and the driver are being treated in a hospital for burns.
“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,” director general and inspector general of police Praveen Sood tweeted.
The blast took place a couple of hours after chief minister Basavaraj Bommai left Mangaluru. Announcing that the NIA team has begun its probe into the blast, Bommai said, “As this individual (who was travelling in the autorickshaw) had visited several places, including Coimbatore, he may have links with terrorist group. This information has been shared by police after a preliminary probe.”
Prima facie, it appears to be a case of terror, he said, adding that details will be known after the driver and passenger recuperate at the hospital. Bommai said any links of this blast incident with the banned PFI will be known after a thorough investigation.
ADGP (law and order) Alok Kumar told TOI that though the identity of the passenger is yet to be established, it is suspected that he shares links with terror outfits. After visiting the hospital where the two injured are being treated, ADGP Alok Kumar said, “The suspect has sustained 40-45% burns. We are hoping he will survive. The suspect is not able to speak and is under treatment and we cannot force him to speak. We have not been able to establish his identity with certainty. We have called his relatives, who will be arriving by morning. Only after that we can conclusively say who the person is.”
“We’ve got vital clues. Teams have travelled to different parts of the state and outside and all those who are connected are being questioned to unearth the network into the case,” he added. Police recovered a cooker and bolts from the spot. Experts from the Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) team for sampling and extraction have arrived. Soon after the incident, several teams were formed and ACP (Central) PA Hegde was appointed as the investigation officer.
An Aadhaar card found at the blast site belonged to a person named Premraj Hutagi, a railway employee from Tumakuru. Police said it is case of identity theft and Hutagi had nothing to do with the blast. Police are probing various angles and links, including to the Coimbatore blast case and if the suspect had met Jameesha Mubin, the deceased suspect in the Coimbatore blast case. Police suspect the accused may have links with the pro-terror graffiti case reported in December 2020 in Mangaluru City and a case booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in Shivamogga.

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