MANGALURU AUTO EXPLOSION ‘ACT OF TERROR’; POLICE CARRY OUT RAID

BENGALURU: The explosion in an autorickshaw in Karnataka’s Mangaluru was an “act of terror” and was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that was being carried by a man with suspected links to the Islamic State (IS), chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and top police officers said on Sunday.

On Saturday evening, a blast occurred inside an autorickshaw in Mangaluru injuring the driver and the passenger, who is also the main suspect in the case.

“Prima facie, this is a terror act. The state police are investigating the matter and as per the primary information, it [the explosion] was because of an IED instrument,” Bommai said.

Praveen Sood, the state’s director general of police and inspector general of police said they were bringing central agencies to probe the incident.

The suspect, who suffered more than 50% burns in the explosion on Saturday, was identified as 24-year-old Mohammed Shariq, who police said was a terror accused with suspected links to IS.