BENGALURU: ISIS member Mohammed Shariq, 27, the prime accused in the 2002 Mangaluru pressure cooker blast case, has been sentenced to undergo 10 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 92,000 by a Special Court for National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases in Bengaluru on Monday.
A native of Shivamogga, Shariq is the key accused in the November 19, 2022 blast case. Shariq suffered severe burns when the pressure cooker IED he was taking in an auto-rickshaw to plant at Kadri Manjunatha Temple in Mangaluru to create communal tension accidentally detonated around 4.30 pm due to the faulty setting of the timer.
He has been convicted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He has also been sentenced for attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and causing grievous hurt to auto driver Purushotham Poojary, and also under the provisions of the Explosive Substances Act.
Accused conducted recon across Karnataka, says NIA
The court on April 18 had reserved order on the sentencing of Shariq, who is currently in judicial custody in the Bengaluru Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara. In December 2025, he had submitted a guilty plea under section 229 of the CrPC. The court in March 2026 had accepted the confession.
NIA, in a press release, stated that the investigation found the accused to have been radicalised into the ideology of the proscribed ISIS terror outfit by his associate, Arafath Ali, an accused in the Shivamogga IS Conspiracy case who is already undergoing six years of RI.
“Shariq had conspired with co-accused Syed Yasin and a foreign-based IS online handler to promote terror activities in India with the aim to disturb the society through IED attacks. He was also involved in fund raising activities for IS.
On the instructions of his online handler, he had exchanged explosive materials with Syed Yasin and had absconded after the arrest of Yasin and others in the Shivamogga IS Conspiracy case in September 2022. Shariq has forged identity documents, used fraudulently obtained SIM cards and bank accounts for terror financing, and frequently changed mobile phones to destroy evidence,” the central agency said.
He had established a hideout in Mysuru, procured IED raw materials and conducted reconnaissance of sensitive target places across Mangaluru, Davanagere, and Udupi areas of Karnataka, as per NIA investigations. After taking over the case, NIA arrested two individuals and unravelled the larger IS terror module involved in the anti-India conspiracy. NIA, in coordination with other agencies, is continuing to probe the conspiracy, the release added.