Police said today that Shariq used to work under several bosses.
Mangaluru, Karnataka:
The accused in the autorickshaw blast in coastal Karnataka’s Mangaluru “was inspired by the ISIS terror group” and used the dark web to contact his handlers, claiming a major breakthrough, police said today. The Karnataka police also said that Shariq worked under several handlers, one of them from Al Hind, a terrorist organization influenced by ISIS.
Shareek, a resident of Shivamogga district, was carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) in a pressure cooker in an autorickshaw on Saturday when it exploded, causing him severe burns. He is currently undergoing treatment at a city hospital.
Alok Kumar, a senior police officer with the state police, said, “… our priority is to see that he survives, we have to take him to a platform where we can interrogate him.”
Police described the blast as “a act of terror with intent to cause grievous hurt.”
The police officer said the accused made bombs at the house and also carried out a “test explosion” on a river bank.
“Shariq’s immediate handler was Arafat Ali, an accused in two cases. He was in touch with Mussavir Hussain, who is an accused in the Al-Hind module case. Abdul Mateen Taha was one of Shariq’s main handlers. Other 2-3 The handler also worked with Shariq but they are yet to be identified,” Mr Kumar said.
A burnt pressure cooker with batteries was found inside the autorickshaw.
He said that so far police have conducted searches at five places across Karnataka including his house in Mysore from where bomb-making material was seized.
“Shariq was inspired by the ISIS ideology and made a bomb at his house. On September 19, Shariq along with two other accomplices carried out a test explosion in a forest along a river in Shivamogga,” the police officer said.
Police arrested two of his accomplices the next day, but Shariq managed to escape and took a house on rent in Mysuru with a stolen Aadhaar card and continued making bombs, police said.
“We have formed five different teams and they are working on it. Searches were conducted at four places in Thirthahalli town of Shivamogga district and one place in Mangaluru city this morning. Searches were conducted at two places yesterday. So, we searched seven places and seized a few.” electronic equipment,” said the senior police officer.
a man is born detained in coimbatore for his alleged relationship with Sharik. Tamil Nadu Police sources told NDTV that the man had stayed in a dormitory with Shariq and had also given him his Aadhaar card to get a SIM card.
An investigating officer told NDTV, “We have questioned him and verified the circumstances under which he lived with her. He appears to be innocent. We have shared the information with the Mangaluru police.”
The Tamil Nadu Police has also started probing whether Shariq had visited several places in the state a few days before the blast. NDTV has learned that Shariq traveled to Kerala from Tamil Nadu, where he allegedly received a consignment through Amazon.
Special teams have been formed to probe whether he had met or had links with Jameesha Mubeen, the prime accused in the recent Coimbatore car blast case. Police invoked sections of the stringent anti-terror law UAPA in the Coimbatore car blast after 75 kg of explosive raw material was seized from the residence of Jameja Mubeen, who was killed in the blast.
Although police have confirmed that Shariq and Jameeza Mubeen were ISIS sympathizers, they have not found any link between the two.
It is being told that Sharik has suffered 45 per cent burns in the blast in the autorickshaw. Though he is out of danger, police say he is not well enough to give a statement.
Police said he was carrying a low-intensity improvised explosive device or IED. A burnt pressure cooker with batteries was found inside the vehicle.