Mangaluru Police is looking for the associates of 24-year-old Mohammed Shariq, who was found injured in an auto-rickshaw blast in the city last week. As per the police, Shariq was inspired by the terrorist organisation Islamic State (ISIS). Shariq’s alleged plan was to execute the blast somewhere else, but the improvised bomb accidentally went off in the auto.
Following the blast, he was shifted to a hospital for treatment as he suffered extensive burn injuries.
Police on the lookout for suspected co-conspirators
As per reports, the police are looking for three suspected co-conspirators: Abdul Matheen Taha, Musabbir Hussain and Arafath Ali. All three are the residents of Thirthahalli, which is located around 60 km from Shivamogga.
Two of the suspects, Taha and Hussain, are wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for attempting to raise an ISIS-inspired module. They allegedly tried to recruit members from the southern states. A case was filed against them in 2020, and since then, they have been absconding.
Indian Express quoted ADGP (Law and Order) Alok Kumar said that the police suspect Arafath Ali to be the immediate handler of Shariq. Taha is suspected to be above Ali in the hierarchy, and Hussain is also suspected to be part of the group. The agency has announced a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh for information on Taha.
In 2020, Arafath, Shariq and two others identified as Maaz Muneer Ahmed from Mangaluru and Syed Yasin from Shivamogga were booked in the Mangaluru graffiti case. Following the case, Ali is suspected of having fled to Dubai. All of them were accused of painting pro-terror slogans on a wall.
The role of cryptocurrency
As per the police, it is suspected that the accused used cryptocurrency to finance the blast. Kumar said in a statement that Shariq used bitcoins. A team has been set up to probe the digital train of the transactions executed by Shariq. The police also suspect that Arafat channelled the foreign funding. The equipment used in the blast was purchased mostly from online stores.
Mangaluru Blast Case
On November 19, an auto-rickshaw exploded in Mangaluru. The passenger, later identified as 24-year-old Mohammed Shariq, in the auto-rickshaw, was carrying a pressure cooker. The police found an improvised explosive device (IED) inside the cooker that exploded. Shariq was using a fake Aadhaar card with the Hindu name Premraj. He was already on investigating agencys’ radar for months.
