NIA files charge sheet against 2 IS terrorists in Mangaluru IED blast case
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday said it has filed a charge sheet against two accused in the Islami case – Mohammed Shariq, who prepared the pressure cooker IED, and Syed Shariq, who provided the material for the explosive. The state (IS) sponsored pressure cooker blast took place in Mangaluru, Karnataka in November last year.
An NIA official here said the agency filed a charge sheet against the two before a court on Wednesday.
The officer said Shariq and Syed, along with an online handler, had planned the blast as part of a conspiracy to establish a caliphate.
“In pursuance of the conspiracy, Mohammad Shariq prepared the pressure cooker IED and Syed Yasin provided material support for the explosive,” the officer said.
Mohammad Shariq was carrying a pressure cooker IED in an auto-rickshaw when it exploded on November 19 last year. The officer said they had planned to plant an IED at the Kadri Manjunath temple in Mangaluru with the aim of spreading terror among the Hindu community, but the low intensity bomb accidentally exploded on the way.
The NIA had registered a case on November 23 last year under several sections of the IPC and Explosive Substances Act.
Shariq was arrested by the NIA in July 2023 along with his co-accused Syed Shariq.
Pointing to Shariq’s role in other cases, the officer said he first came on the radar of security forces in November 2020 when he was arrested by the state police for pro-terrorist graffiti in Mangaluru city.
“He and his associates had put up graffiti in support of the global terrorist organization IS,” the officer said.
“Subsequently, Shariq was also named in the 2022 Shivamogga IS conspiracy case, in which 10 accused have been arrested so far,” the officer said.
Of the 10 arrested, nine, including Shariq and Syed Yasin, have been charged with carrying out a test blast on June 30 this year to radicalise and recruit innocent Muslim youth, raise funds and further IS’s anti-India activities. Charge sheet was filed.
