NIA files charge sheet against 2 IS operatives in Mangaluru IED blast case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday said that it has filed a charge sheet against two accused — Mohamed Shariq, who prepared the pressure cooker IED and Syed Shariq who provided material for the explosive — in connection with the Islamic State (IS) sponsored pressure cooker blast that took place in Karnataka’s Mangaluru in November last year. A NIA official here said that the agency filed the charge sheet against the two before a court on Wednesday. The official said that Shariq and Syed, along with an online handler, had planned the explosion as part of a conspiracy to establish a Caliphate. “In pursuance of the conspiracy, Mohamed Shariq had prepared the pressure cooker IED and Syed Yasin had provided material support for the explosive,” the official said. Mohamed Shariq was carrying the pressure cooker IED in an auto-rickshaw when it exploded on November 19 last year. The official said that he had planned to plant the IED at Kadri Manjunatha Temple in Mangaluru, with the aim to spread terror among the Hindu community but the low intensify bomb accidentally exploded on the way. The case was filed by the NIA on November 23 last year under several sections of the IPC and the Explosive Substances Act. Shariq was arrested by the NIA in July 2023, along with his co-accused Syed Shariq. The official pointing out the role of Shariq in other cases said that he had first come on the radar of the security forces in November 2020 when he was arrested by the state police for pro-terror graffiti in Mangaluru city. @@@@