MYSURU/ SHIVAMOGGA: The Mysuru City police on Sunday carried out searches at the house of the accused in the Mangaluru blast case and seized incriminating material.
The blast had occurred on Saturday evening inside an autorickshaw, near a police station, leaving the passenger and the driver injured. Both have been admitted to a hospital.
The cops searched the house, which is located in Lokanayaka Nagar in Metagalli, in the morning. The accused had been staying at the location for nearly two months.
According to the sources, the terror accused was staying in a room on the ground floor.
During the raid, incriminating materials including explosives and circuits, which are used in the bomb, were seized from his room, sources said.
They said the accused was paying a rent of Rs 1,800 per month. Various fake documents were also seized during the raid.
Police said that the accused has suffered 40%-45% burns and is not in a condition to speak.
ADGP Alok Kumar visited the private hospital where the victim and the suspect are being treated .
“The suspect has 40-45% burn injuries. We are hoping that he will survive since he needs to be questioned. The suspect is not able to speak and is under treatment and we cannot force him to speak. We have not been able to establish his identity with certainty. We have called his relatives, who will be arriving tonight and by morning, they will visit and later we can conclusively say who the person is,” Kumar said.
After the search operations, National Investigation Agency (NIA), Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squads (BDDS) teams arrived in the city from Bengaluru.
Earlier today, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said the suspect who allegedly carried out the bomb explosion had terror links as he had travelled to various places, including Coimbatore in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
"Prima facie, this is a terror act. The places he had travelled to such as Coimbatore or any other places clearly point to his terror link," Bommai said.
Mysuru district in charge minister ST Somashekar on Sunday held a meeting with the Mysuru police commissioner Ramesh Banhot and asked him to beef up security in the city in the wake of the blast at Mangaluru.
The minister told reporters that he has directed the police commissioner to be alert. However, there is no threat in Mysuru, he said.
Meanwhile, state home minister Araga Jnanendra said in Shivamogga that growing terror activities in Mangaluru are worrisome.
The Karnataka police has sought help from the Union government to investigate the terror case, he told reporters.
The incident has wide roots and is linked to terror outfits. We will disclose it in two days, he said.
"The coastal Karnataka region is targeted by terror outfits for many years. The Karnataka police is probing it thoroughly to unearth the network," he said.
BJP MLA KS Eshwarappa asked the state government to hand over the Mangaluru blast probe to NIA.
