Mangaluru blast and its connect to Coimbatore suicide bombing

While in the Coimbatore case, the accused was trying to blow up a temple, in Karnataka the attempt was to create tensions between the Hindus and Muslims in an already charged up atmosphere in Mangaluru.

New Delhi, Nov 21: The security mechanism is on high alert following a blast in a moving auto-rickshaw in Mangaluru, which is being treated as a case of terror. In the blast the driver and a passenger suffered serious burn injuries.

The driver told the police that the passenger was carrying something in his bag that caught fire and spread to the vehicle. The passenger, who was suspected to have carried a fake ID, had boarded the auto-rickshaw which was coming from the Mangalore Railway Junction at Nauru.

The police recovered a pressure cooker from the blast site. The passenger Mohammad Shariq is the main suspect and he had previously been booked under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA. He was an absconding accused in a terror case.

The Coimbatore connect:

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told mediapersons that the accused person had terror links and he even visited Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. It is interesting to note that the incident in Mangaluru comes close on the heels of the suicide attack that took place in Coimbatore by another radical Islamist a few weeks back.

Shariq, a resident of Mysuru, is currently in hospital and once he gains consciousness he will be questioned for further leads.

Sources tell OneIndia that prima facie it appears as though the accused person had been radicalised by the same persons who had played a role in the Coimbatore blast. In the Coimbatore incident, it had been found that the accused was radicalised by the Sri Lanka bomber, Zahran Hashim. The same cannot be ruled out in the Karnataka case as well, the source cited above said.

Karnataka ADGP, Alok Kumar said that the link to the Coimbatore blast cannot be ruled out. It was a clear attempt to disrupt harmony in the area.

The search:

During the search at the Mysuru home of the accused, the investigating agencies found the material the accused had used to make the bomb. Material such as gelatine powder, circuit board, small bolts, mobile, wood powder, batteries, wires, a mixture jar and a pressure cooker were also found.

Further, the agencies also recovered two fake Aadhaar cards, a fake PAN Card and one FINO debit card. This led the agencies to believe that he was preparing more explosive devices in his house.

The similarities:

Sources also said that the similarities between the incident in Karnataka and Coimbatore cannot be ruled out. In both the cases, the intent of the accused was to disrupt communal harmony. While in the Coimbatore case, the accused was trying to blow up a temple, in Karnataka the attempt was to create tensions between the Hindus and Muslims in an already charged up atmosphere in Mangaluru where riots can break out at the drop of a hat.

The radicalisation pattern also appears to be similar. Shariq has a history of being involved in a terror case. The pattern that the Islamic State has followed is radicalising Muslims online. There is plenty of material that persons such as Hashim have put up online and this, in turn, has contributed heavily towards the radicalisation of Muslims in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and a great part of the coastal areas of Karnataka.