A special National Investigation Agency court in Bengaluru sentenced Mohammed Shariq, the main accused in the 2022 Mangaluru cooker bomb blast case, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment on Monday. The explosion occurred in an autorickshaw with no casualties, though Shariq sustained serious injuries. Investigators linked him to an Islamic State-inspired module.
The special National Investigation Agency court in Bengaluru convicted Mohammed Shariq under Indian Penal Code sections 121A, 122 and 326, along with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Shariq appeared via video conferencing and sought leniency, stating he has a daughter and no earning member in his family. The court considered this in its sentencing.
The incident occurred on November 19, 2022, when an improvised explosive device hidden in a pressure cooker detonated inside an autorickshaw near Kankanady in Mangaluru. Investigators said the blast was accidental due to a faulty timer, averting a larger incident. The NIA described it as part of a conspiracy to threaten national security.
Shariq, from Shivamogga district, was linked to an Islamic State-inspired module operating in parts of Karnataka. He was wanted in a September 2022 case involving alleged IED testing. He had been arrested in 2020 for anti-national graffiti in Mangaluru and later released on bail.
The module was connected to experimental blasts along the Tunga river banks and possessed IED assembly materials. Authorities also named it in the March 1, 2024 explosion at Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe, where a similar device was used. Seized items and digital evidence indicated ideological alignment with the Islamic State, though no confirmed direct operational link.
