Raids at 18 locations as police dig out more on the Mangaluru blast

New Delhi, Nov 23: The Police has carried out raids at 18 places in connection with the autorickshaw blast that took place in Mangaluru.

The police raided the homes belonging to the relatives of Mohammad Shariq, the main accused in the incident. Further the police learnt that he carried out a rehearsal blast at Thunga in Shivamogga.

Further the police learnt that he had learnt how to make the bomb from groups on encrypted messing platforms. The police have so far not found any connection between Shariq and any terror group. It appears as though he along with Abdul Matheen Taha, Arafat Ali, Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Syed Yasin, all residents of Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district were self-radicalised.

NIA takeover soon:

Considering the ramifications that the case has and the similarities to the blast at Coimbatore, the National Investigation Agency is set to take over the case. The Karnataka government has said that the case would be handed over to the premier investigation agency soon. An order is expected to be out soon from the Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi.

If one looks at both the blasts, then there are several similarities between the ones in Coimbatore and Mangaluru. Both followed the ideology of the Islamic State and had planned on targeting Hindus. Both the accused Shariq and Jamesha Mubin were self-radicalised.

Further the police are also investigating to see if both the bombers knew each other. The investigators have stumbled upon evidence suggesting that Shariq had visited Coimbatore on a couple of occasions.