Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (SS)
Mangaluru, Nov 30: Police have begun interrogating Shariq (24), an accused in the Mangaluru cooker bomb blast that occurred in Naguri on November 19.
A team of police personnel led by commissioner N Shashi Kumar grilled the accused for about four hours and gathered some information, it is learnt.
Shariq had suffered 45% burns due to the cooker blast and his lungs were filled with smoke. His eyes were also affected due to the blast. He was being treated in a private hospital amidst tight police security.
Meanwhile, Mangaluru police and Tamil Nadu police have begun investigation into the blasts that occurred at Mangaluru and Coimbatore as there seems to be a connection between the two incidents. Tamil Nadu police are investigating the places where Shariq had stayed during his visit. The police have visited Madurai, Nagercoil and Kanyakumari where Shariq had visited. It is learnt that Shariq had checked into a hotel in Nagercoil under the name Premraj and had stayed there for four days. He had produced a fake Aadhar card to prove his identity, it is learnt.
The government of Karnataka has handed over the investigation to NIA. The investigating agency has submitted the documents pertaining to the case to 7th JMFC Mangaluru district court and an order is awaited on the bomb blast trial.
It is also learnt that the NIA is extending its scope of investigation to Kasargod district in relation to the cooker blast. The Kasargod police have also begun an investigation.
Police have also stumbled upon some leads in the case regarding Shariq's drug deals in Kochi. It is learnt that a group of ten people including some women from Kerala had flown overseas and joined the Islamic State (IS) terror outfit that is operational in Syria and Afghanistan. Some of them died in an operation while a few others are serving jail terms in Afghanistan.
The police and the investigating team suspect that there may be a connection between the IS team and the Mangaluru cooker blast incident.