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The probe into the November 19 explosion in Karnataka's coastal city of Mangaluru is expanding across two more southern states, as the "global terrorist organisation-inspired" key suspect behind the blast is said to have visited Tamil Nadu and Kerala and police teams are looking into possible local accomplices and links to the Thirthalli native.
Mohammed Shariq, hailing from Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district in Karnataka, was travelling in an autorickshaw with a pressure cooker fitted with detonator, wires and batteries, when it exploded on the outskirts of Mangaluru on Saturday.Karnataka police described it as an act of terror aimed at creating serious damage.
Shariq had suffered burn injuries and is currently being treated in a Mangaluru hospital and unable to speak.
In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, the police have launched a probe to ascertain whether Shariq has any accomplices in the state, with Coimbatore recently witnessing a deadly explosion where the victim, also the alleged perpetrator, was planning to carry out suicide attacks.
It is now clear that Shariq had bought a SIM card for a mobile phone using the Aadhaar card of a native of Ooty, Surendran, police sources said. Investigations are on to check whether Shariq's stay in September in Coimbatore, which witnessed the blast last month, was part of a larger criminal conspiracy, they said.
Surendran, now being questioned by the police, had stayed in the same dormitory with Shariq, who had befriended him to get the Aadhaar card. According to the National Investigation Agency, Coimbatore-based Jamesha Mubeen, after taking an oath of allegiance to the ISIS, was planning to carry out attacks.
Mubeen died on October 23 after a car he travelled exploded in front of a temple in Coimbatore, a western city in Tamil Nadu. The vehicle had explosives and gas cylinders. Police sources said the current probe, among other aspects, is to find out if Shariq was in touch with Mubeen. Authorities of a Coimbatore school, where Surendran worked a few years ago, are also likely to inquired soon.
Further, a 22-year old man, who is a native of Assam was reportedly questioned by police for having spoken to Shariq over phone. The young man, for a couple of years, has been working at a hotel in Kanyakumari district. Police have intensified vigil across inter-state borders and at all places, where people congregate in large numbers, and all vehicles entering Tamil Nadu are being thoroughly checked.
Meanwhile, in Kerala, a team of Karnataka police officials probing the Mangaluru blast reached Ernakulam to inquire into Shariq's Aluva link.
Police sources said the intelligence wing of the state police is also probing the Aluva connection of the accused.