Searches were conducted at the rented Mysuru home of the prime accused Mohammed Shariq in the Mangaluru autorickshaw blast case on Sunday. As per the police, a bomb squad has also been deployed in the area for a combing operation.
Findings have revealed that Shariq took the single room accommodation in October this year and told the owner that he was in the city for mobile repair training. The police also said that Shariq was carrying an Aadhaar card which did not belong to him, besides a SIM card from Coimbatore under a fake name.
This news comes as a moving autorickshaw exploded on Saturday, causing fire and massive smoke. The autorickshaw driver and a passenger were among those who sustained burn injuries and a cooker was recovered from the autorickshaw after the blast. Karnataka Director General of Police Praveen Sood on Sunday termed it as an "act of terror."
"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," the DGP said in a tweet.
The autorickshaw passenger is the main suspect in the Mangaluru blast case. He has been identified as Mohammed Shariq. The accused has previously been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and was absconding in a terror case.
According to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the suspect had terror links as he had travelled to various places, including Coimbatore in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
"Prima facie, this is a terror act. The places he had travelled to such as Coimbatore or any other places clearly point to his terror link," CM Bommai said. He also added that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials have also joined the state police in investigating the matter. As of now, the suspect is in the hospital.
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