NIA files charge sheet in IS-backed Mangaluru pressure cooker IED blast case

The NIA on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against two arrested accused in the Islamic State-sponsored pressure cooker blast in Karnataka’s Mangaluru last year, an official said.

The charge sheet was filed against Mohamed Shariq and Syed Shariq in a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substances Act, a spokesperson for the federal agency said.

Mohamed Shariq, who was carrying the pressure cooker IED (improvised explosive device) in an autorickshaw, had allegedly planned to plant it at Mangaluru’s Kadri Manjunatha Temple with the aim to create terror among the Hindu community. The low intensity bomb, however, accidentally exploded on the way on November 19, 2022, the spokesperson said.

The official said a case was registered on November 23, 2022, and Mohamed Shariq and co-accused Syed Shariq were arrested by the NIA in July. According to the investigations, the two along — with an online handler — had planned the explosion as part of a conspiracy to establish a Caliphate (Sharia law), the spokesperson said.

As part of the conspiracy, Mohamed Shariq prepared the pressure cooker IED and Syed Yasin — another accused — provided material support, the official added. The official said Mohamed Shariq first came on the radar of security forces in November 2020 when he was arrested by the Karnataka Police for painting a pro-terror graffiti in Mangaluru City.

He and his associates had put up the graffiti in support of the global terror outfit, the Islamic State, the spokesperson said. Subsequently, Mohamed Shariq was also named in the Shivamogga Islamic State conspiracy case of 2022, in which 10 accused have been arrested so far.

Of the 10 arrested, nine — including Mohamed Shariq and Syed Yasin — were chargesheeted on June 30 for radicalising and recruiting gullible Muslim youths, raising funds and conducting trial blasts to further the anti-India activities of the Islamic State, the spokesperson said.