BENGALURU: The November 19 Mangaluru blast case will be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), informed sources told TNIE. “The NIA has been roped into the investigation from day one of the blast investigation. With the invocation of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the case will be handed over to the NIA. The agency has the infrastructure, resources, data and capability to mine the cross country and international network data to investigate cases that threaten national security,” they added.
“But before they hand over the case to NIA, the state police will try and get strong leads. The main accused Mohd Shariq is still in the ICU and not in a condition to give any statement to the police,” added sources.
Meanwhile, intelligence agencies have warned of similar blasts like last weekend in Karnataka by “highly radicalised lone terrorists,” said sources. “The new modus operandi to strike terror is to do it alone to hoodwink law enforcement agencies. The target could range from a right wing leader to common public. The extent of damage and casualty will be less but enough to strike terror in people’s minds,” sources said.
Shivamogga police red-flagged Shariq in Sept
“Earlier, the proscribed Indian Mujahideen (IM) was formed in 2007 by Iqbal and Riyaz Shahbandari alias Bhatkal from Karnataka as a home-grown terrorist organisation with funding and support from across the country after the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was banned on September 26, 2001 following the 9/11 attack in the US. Now, with improved technology, counter terror apparatus, co-operation among countries to share real time intelligence on terror operatives and crackdown on funding, the youth are being radicalised online. They are anonymous and don’t need much funding for their terrorist activities. It is a dangerous trend and the Ministry of Home Affairs is seized of the matter,” said sources.
In Shariq’s case, he is being handled by Arafath Ali, Abdul Matheen Taha and Musabir Hussain. Ali is said to be in Dubai, Taha and Hussain are being investigated by the NIA for creating an ISIS-affiliated terror group in Bengaluru. Shariq was arrested in December 2020 terror graffiti case in Mangaluru along with his associate and engineering graduate Maaz Muneer Ahmed and later enlarged on bail.
The Shivamogga police had red-flagged Shariq in September after the arrest of two other engineering graduates - Maaz Muneer Ahmed (22) of Mangaluru and Syed Yasin (21) of Shivamogga for alleged affiliation to the banned terrorist outfit Islamic State of Iraq & Syria (ISIS) for carrying a blast and burning the national flag near the Tunga river. “Shariq is the main accused in all the three cases but his associates do not know the others, who are involved in his other cases,” said sources.
Three “highly radicalised” youths, including Shariq have been arrested in the state since July this year. First was Akhtar Hussain (25) from Assam, who was arrested in Bengaluru by the the Central Crime Branch (CCB) on a tip off from the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Second was Zabiullah, who was arrested in Shivamogga during the Independence Day clashes. Zabiullah has reportedly been “indoctrinated by the Pakistan-based banned terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) to engineer violence in the state,” informed sources had earlier revealed.
SHARIQ’S CONDITION STABLE
MANGALURU: Mangaluru City police commissioner N Shashi Kumar said prime accused H Mohammed Shariq’s condition is stable and only after medical fitness certification is issued, they will go ahead with questioning him.