On November 22, Tuesday, CCTV evidence emerged showing Mohammed Shariq, the main suspect in the Mangaluru bomb blast, boarding the auto-rickshaw at Naguri minutes before the explosion. In the fooatge, Shariq is seen carrying a huge backpack in which the pressure cooker that was turned into IED was allegedly packed.
Second suspect is also seen with Shariq in the footage. Karnataka Police has revealed that the suspect used Isha Foundation logo as the display picture on his social media accounts to mask his identity.
Caught on CCTV, Mangaluru blast case suspect Mohammad Shariq seen walking with a big backpack
— Asianet Newsable (@AsianetNewsEN) November 22, 2022
Second suspect is seen with Shariq in the footage#Mangaluru #AutoBlast #terrorism pic.twitter.com/I0YJAo5ECf
On Saturday, November 19, an auto-rickshaw exploded under unexplained circumstances in Mangaluru, Karnataka’s coastal town. After the explosion, CCTV footage capturing exact moment of IED blast in the auto-rickshaw in Mangaluru had also emerged.
The footage that has been relased by the Karnataka police today, is that from a wine shop near the place from where Shariq boarded the auto. In the footage, Shariq is seen wearing a cap and carrying a huge backpack on his shoulders. As he walks towards the auto, he removes the bag and puts it on towards the front. It is being said that Shariq was probably carrying the pressure cooker, which contained an improvised explosive device (IED) that had exploded, in that backpack.
The second accused is also seen walking behind Shariq. Republic TV has reported that Karnataka Police has revealed that the suspect used Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation as display picture on social media.
#BREAKING | Mystery over bomber’s identity hidden in Mangaluru blast. Karnataka Police reveals suspect used Isha Foundation as display pic on social media. Tune in for updates – https://t.co/GAtGCw2GdU pic.twitter.com/OcEqJHPOzx
— Republic (@republic) November 22, 2022
The police have gathered CCTV footage from throughout the stretch, from the bus stop where he got off to Naguri, where the explosion eventually occurred, and are mapping Shariq’s trail after he reached Mangaluru through them.
Meanwhile, the inquiry into Mohammed Shariq’s antecedents, the key suspect in Saturday’s Mangaluru auto rickshaw blast, has found that he visited Madurai and Coimbatore in September and stayed for a few days in a hostel in Singanallur, a residential locality in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Police are investigating whether Shariq met Jamesha Mubeen, who died in a car explosion in Coimbatore on October 23, during his stay there.
Similarities between Coimbatore and Mangaluru blast
It should be noted that the findings, in the Mangaluru case, are similar to those in the Coimbatore blast case, where an LPG cylinder exploded inside a car. A 25-year-old man named Jamesha Mubeen died on October 23 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, after an LPG cylinder in a vehicle exploded in the communally sensitive Kottaimedu region.
According to the charge sheet, over a hundred incriminating items had been recovered from the residence of Mubeen who died in the blast in the car. It is notable that earlier it was thought to be a simple cylinder blast case, but later terror angle emerged in the incident, after which the case was handed over to the NIA.
Interestingly, then too CCTV footage had emereged showing five men, including Jemisha Mubeen, carrying a gunny bag from the latter’s house.
#BREAKING | Key CCTV footage emerges in connection with the Coimbatore blast. A group of men were seen carrying a gunny bag in the video. Tune in #LIVE: https://t.co/pJdhfom7Rz pic.twitter.com/J1aiYz2F6R
— Republic (@republic) October 25, 2022
The CCTV footage near the house showed the five men purportedly taking out a gunny bag from Mubeen’s house around 11.25 pm on Saturday. The cylinder explosion in the car happened near Kottai Eswaran Temple in the busy and communally sensitive Ukkadam area around 4 am on Sunday.
Bomb making materials recovered from Jemisha Mubin and Mohammed Shariq’s houses
Furthermore, in both cases, various incriminating materials were found from the houses of the key accused. After the Coimbatore blast, the NIA team searched Jemisha Mubin’s premises and seized 109 articles, including potassium nitrate, black powder, matchbox, cracker fuse length of about 2 meters, Nitro Glycerin, red phosphorous, PETN powder, Aluminium powder, OXY 99 Breathe pure Oxygen cylinder, Sulphur powder, Sterile Surgical blade, and other bomb-making materials, as well as notebooks with information on Islamic ideology and Jihad.
Similarly, the Forensic Science Laboratory Division (FSL) team arrived at Shariq’s rented house in Mysore on Sunday as the inquiry into the Mangaluru bomb case proceeded. The squad seized explosive-making ingredients from Shariq’s home.
Gelatin powder, circuit boards, tiny bolts, batteries, mobile phones, wood power, aluminium multimeters, cables, mixing jars, pressure cookers, and other components required to build explosives were found by the FSL team. One mobile phone, two fake Aadhaar cards, one fake pan card, and one FINO debit card were also discovered by the forensic experts. The accused is alleged to have been assembling explosive devices at his home.
The accused in Coimbatore and Mangaluru blast were ‘influenced’ by the ISIS
An important piece of evidence discovered from Mubin’s home was a slate with a green frame and an ISIS insignia written on it. “So far, there is no evidence of him getting help from outside. But our questioning of others has revealed that Mubeen had high regard for Zahran Hashim (the main suicide bomber behind the Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka), a self-radicalised attacker who killed over 200 people,” stated an officer involved in the investigation.
The agencies probing the Mangaluru blast also revealed that Mohammed Shariq was “influenced and inspired” by a global terrorist organisation. “His handler was Abdul Mateen Taha from Suddaguntepalya (in Bengaluru) on whom the National Investigation Agency has announced a reward of Rs five lakh,” the ADGP said.
In September, two persons Maaz Muneer Ahmad (22) of Mangaluru and Syed Yasin (21) were arrested for their alleged links to the banned terrorist organisation Islamic State. In the same case, Mohammad Shariq was a suspect and he was on the run from the police.
