Pramesh S Jain
T
he National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday filed a chargesheet against two accused in the Islamic State (IS) sponsored pressure cooker blast that took place in Mangaluru in Karnataka in November last year.
One of the accused,Mohamed Shariq,had been carrying the pressure cooker IED in an auto-rickshaw when it exploded on November,19 2022.
According to the officials release,Shariq had planned to plant the IED at Kadri Manjunatha Temple, Mangaluru, with the aim to create terror among the Hindu community but the low intensify bomb accidentally exploded on the way.
The NIA had taken up the case on 23 November 2022 under criminal conspiracy,attempt to murder and under various sections of Explosive Substances Act .
Shariq was arrested by the NIA in July 2023,along with his co-accused,Syed Shariq.
As per the NIA investigations,Shariq and Syed,along with an online handler,had planned the explosion as part of a conspiracy to establish Caliphate (Shariya Law).
In pursuance of the conspiracy,Mohamed Shariq had prepared the pressure cooker IED and Syed Yasin had provide material support for the explosive.
Shariq had first come on the radar of security forces in November 2020 when he was arrested by the state police for pro-terror graffiti in Mangaluru city.
He and his associates had put up the graffiti in support of the global terror outfit,the Islamic State (IS).
Subsequently,Shariq was also named in the Shivamogga IS Conspiracy Case reported in 2022,in which so far 10 accused have been arrested.
Out of these 10 arrested,nine,including Shariq and Syed Yasin,were charge-sheeted in 30 June 2023 for radicalizing and recruiting gullible Muslim youth,raising funds,and further conducting trial blast to further the anti-India activities of IS.
