Mangaluru cooker bomber confirmed to have terror links

Mangaluru: The police authorities are running on full steam in recovering as much information and evidence in the Mangaluru autorickshaw blast that occurred on Saturday. Apart from tracing the prime suspect's links to terrorism, the police have also found incriminating evidences from his rented house in Mysuru.

Following the explosion of a cooker bomb in the rickshaw, police conducted investigations and found that the suspect, Mohammed Shariq (24) was operating under to fake identities. The first identity as a passenger under the name of Premraj Kanogi who is actually a government employee who had lost his Aadhar Card a week ago. This Aadhar Card was found at the blast site.

Another Aadhar Card that Shariq used was that which bore the name of Arun Kumar Gouli. The Mangaluru police have lodged a case of inpersonation against Shariq as he possessed two fake Aadhar Cards.

Alok Kumar, the ADGP (Law & Order) confirmed these findings in a press conference conducted on Monday. He also said that Shariq is associated with an international terrorist organisation and had plans to conduct more blasts in cities along the coast of Karnataka. His international handler has been identified as Abdul Mateen.

Shariq is also most likely to have links with the Coimbatore blast which was executed on a similar style before Deepavali. "Shariq had come to Mangaluru from Mysuru a week ago to conduct a recce of the city and had planned to bomb certain places. In his rented house in Mysuru, authorities have found sulphur, phosphorous, ammonium nitrate, nuts, bolts and circuit boards," Alok Kumar said.

"All of Shariq's links have been tracked in his transit from Mysuru to Mangaluru. We are conducting search operations at seven locations. The team from Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) is recovering all digital evidences. The investigation teams are on the lookout for terror funding transactions as well," Alok Kumar mentioned.

Shariq is currently being treated for burn injuries in a hospital within Mangaluru city limits and is not yet in a situation to talk. "We are prioritising his survival at the moment as we can extract more information from him," Alok Kumar said.

Family members of Shariq were also approached to confirm his identity. Shariq's mother and sister have confirmed that the photos shown to them of Shariq is indeed his pictures. Meanwhile, an unclaimed bag at the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus stand in Mangaluru caused panic on Monday afternoon.

Officials of the bus stand noticed the unidentified bag which no one claimed. The officials then called the police and bomb detection squad over to the spot. Residents of Mangaluru claimed that they had been getting Whatsapp forwards about an advisory that warned them about unclaimed and identified bags in public areas. The whole ordeal soon came to an end when the owner of that bag came by to claim the bag. As the cooker bomber case in Mangaluru could have leads to the Coimbatore blast case, the Tamil Nadu police are also on high alert. Investigations are running on a fast pace and more information about this case is expected to be revealed soon.