'Mangaluru blast a terror act, Muslim suspect involved in Shivamogga Tipu Sultan row': Intel sources to News18

The autorickshaw blast in Karnataka’s Mangaluru is a terror act, top intelligence sources have told CNN-News18. The sources also said that the prime suspect has been identified and that he is a Muslim.

Earlier in the day reports said that the suspect was identified as Shareeq who was pretending to be a Hindu. He had stolen the identity of a railway employee named Premraj Hutagi, a resident of Karnataka’s Hubballi district.

Here are the key takeaways from what the intelligence sources told CNN-News18-

• The accused was arrested three years back in a case related to the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
• He was also involved in the Tipu Sultan controversy in Karnataka’s Shivamogga. In August this year, violence erupted in Shivamogga after a group of Tipu Sultan’s followers tried to remove the banners of VD Savarkar. His name came up as the main accused in the case.
• He has a group of four to five people.
• All explosives material, batteries, circuit boards, and other materials used to make IEDs have been recovered from his home.
• So far no connection has been established to the Coimbatore blast. On 23 October 2022, a cylinder blast took place in front of Sangameswarar Temple in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore.
• He was doing everything on self-funding & was radicalised in a single room.
• He has 45% burn injuries and is not speaking right now.
• The doctors have been asked to take care of him and ensure he is recovered.

The autorickshaw blast took place on Saturday. The lone passenger who was injured in the blast is the main suspect in the case.