Explained: How Mohammed Shariq with ‘links’ to Islamic State executed Mangaluru blast

The city of Mangaluru is on edge after an explosion took place on Saturday inside a moving auto rickshaw, causing fire and heavy smoke, with the driver and the passenger sustaining burn injuries. After declaring it as an ‘act of terror’, the Karnataka Police has been able to identify the perpetrator of the attack — the passenger in the auto, now identified as Mohammed Shariq.

As per investigations, a passenger hired an auto rickshaw driven by Purushottam at Naguri Bus Station on the outskirts of Mangaluru to Pumpwell Junction on Saturday evening. While travelling, a blast took place in the auto and the vehicle was engulfed in dense white smoke. People initially thought it to be a tyre burst or technical glitch, but the Karnataka Police swiftly began investigations, which pointed that it was an intentional act caused by a pressure cooker explosion.

CCTV footage of the auto that exploded in #Mangaluru. Ktka DGP @Copsview @DgpKarnataka called it an "act of terror." #Mangalurublast #cookerblast pic.twitter.com/fYWcYSc2uZ

— Rohini Swamy (@Rohini_Swamy) November 20, 2022

As the police continue their investigations into the blast, here’s what we know about how Mohammed Shariq and how he carried out the attack.

From Shariq to Premraj

As Shariq continues to recuperate in the hospital after sustaining burn injuries, investigations have revealed that Shariq was carrying the Aadhaar card with the name Premraj Hutagi. When the Hubbali Police visited the address that was stated in the Aadhaar card, they realised that the victim had faked his identity and that his actual name was Mohammed Shariq.

The police said that they found that Hutagi is a railway employee and posted in Tumakuru. He was quoted as telling the media, “I lost my Aadhaar card a couple of times, and the last time I lost it was about 1.5-2 years ago. Using the 12-digit number, I got a new card but did not file any police complaint. I did not know that it could be misused in such a way.”

The police probe has also revealed that using the forged Aadhaar card, Shariq rented a room on the outskirts of Mysuru a month-and-a-half ago. On Sunday, the police raided that house and recovered materials used to make explosives such as gelatin powder, a circuit board, small bolts, batteries, aluminium multi metres, wires, mixture jars, pressure cooker.

They also found another mobile phone and two fake Aadhaar cards and one fake PAN card and a FINO debit card. It is suspected that the accused was likely preparing explosive devices at his house.

The investigations also revealed that he was using a SIM card, which he had purchased in Coimbatore using the credentials of his Udhagamandalam-based associate Surendran, now detained by Tamil Nadu Police. The authorities have also found that before shifting to Mysuru, Shariq had been in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The Saturday evening blast

An official close to the case, citing the explosive material found in Shariq’s house, was quoted as telling News18: “He had been practising making low-intensity homemade bombs at his Mysuru residence. We have recovered enough evidence to prove that he was planning a series of low-intensity attacks over the next few months.”

Authorities also were quoted as saying that the Saturday blast was a low-key blast, with explosives such as phosphorus used in matchsticks or gunpowder being used. They said that the bomb had been very crudely made — with nuts and bolts in the cooker.

They also suspect that the bomb accidentally went off before its intended destination. “Shariq carried the IED-rigged cooker from Mysuru to Mangaluru, probably in a bus, and later boarded the auto rickshaw on Saturday. The travel would have caused friction, which would have heated up the explosive material, probably triggering the explosion,” a senior police officer was quoted as telling The Hindu.

Shariq’s criminal history

It has also emerged that Shariq, a resident of Thirthahalli in the neighbouring Shivamogga district, has a criminal past and had alleged links to the Islamic State.

According to the police, Shariq was allegedly involved in a stabbing case in Shivamogga on Independence Day — an incident that police claim occurred over a quarrel over the posters of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar .

“He (Shariq) was absconding in the Shivamogga case and also an accused in the graffiti case in Mangaluru and on bail in this case,” the senior police officer said to The Print.

The graffiti case refers to the incident on 27 November 2020 — a day after the anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks — when graffiti sympathising with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) had emerged on the wall of an apartment complex in Kadri.

The police are now also probing his links to the Islamic State, including his possible connection to Jameesha Mubin — who was killed in the blast of car laden with explosives in front of Coimbatore’s Kottai Eswaran temple on 23 October. Mubin was inspired by the Islamic State and had planned to carry out a suicide attack.

With inputs from agencies

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