The Karnataka Police on Sunday claimed that the blast inside an autorickshaw in Mangaluru was not accidental but an act of terror.
“It’s confirmed now,” alleged Karnataka Director General of Police Praveen Sood. “The blast is not accidental but an act of terror with an intention to cause serious damage. Karnataka Police is probing deep into it along with central agencies.”
On November 19, the Karnataka Police conducted search the house of the suspect identified as Shareeq, reported NDTV. Shareeq was the passenger in the autorickshaw who was allegedly carrying the low-intensity Improvised Explosive device, or IED.
The police have said that Shareeq was also carrying an Aadhaar card of a person identified as Premraj Hutagi, a resident of Karnataka’s Hubballi district, reported the news channel. Hutagi had lost the identification document and had acquired a duplicate.
“Premraj is a victim of identity theft,” Sood tweeted on Sunday. “It’s confirmed. He has nothing to do with this incident.”
The blast took place inside a moving autorickshaw in Mangaluru on Saturday. Two persons were injured.
Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that blast was not an isolated incident, The Indian Express reported.
“We suspect some people linked to terror outfits are behind the act,” Jnanendra said. “We have informed central agencies who have already reached Mangaluru. We may get to know the people behind the act and the reason in the next two days.”
On Saturday, Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar had urged people not to panic and spread rumours in connection with the incident.
“There is no need to create confusion and spread rumours through social media,” Kumar had said. “I will straightaway share the information whenever we get it.”
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