MANGALURU: The cooker bomb which exploded in an autorickshaw was to be planted with an aim to disrupt harmony in the area, Additional Director General of Police Alok Kumar has said. “There was an attempt to disrupt harmony in the area,” the senior police official said.
Alok Kumar, who visited the post on Sunday evening, said the blast was a low-intensity explosion. “It was a low-intensity IED explosion. There was an attempt to disrupt harmony in the area, and it was averted. Right now we’ve no information to suggest that this blast is related to the Coimbatore blast”, he added.
The ADGP also informed about the condition of the victim and the suspect. “Victim Purushotam Pujari has sustained 20-25 per cent burn injuries. The suspect has 40-45 per cent burn injuries. We’re trying our best to give him the best medical treatment, so that he survives as he needs to be questioned. As he can’t speak, we haven’t been able to establish his identity,” he added.
Earlier on Sunday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai indicted the man injured in the blast of terror links. “The bomb blast in Mangaluru, prima facie, looks like an act of terror and the government will crack this case”, he said. “The autorickshaw driver and a passenger were injured. Both of them are being treated in a hospital. The police have taken up this case seriously and started investigation. It looks like an IED was been used in this incident”, he added.
The CM said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other agencies have already visited the spot and taken up the probe. “Since the injured are being treated in hospital, more information will be procured from him when he is in a better position. As this individual had visited several places including Coimbatore, he may have links with terrorist groups. Any links of this blast incident with the banned PFI will be known after a thorough investigation,” he said.
He further said that the man was having a duplicate Aadhaar card and that the police are also investigating all the details. “Police are going through all the details of the person who had a duplicate Aadhaar card with a Hubballi address. More information also came out after his real address was investigated. The NIA and other teams are here for further investigation. After he gains consciousness, more information will come out,” CM said.
“As of now, police have got to know about his visits to different places that apparently show that it could be a terror attack and he had terror links. The truth will come out after a complete probe,” he further said.
As the CM had visited Mangaluru on Saturday, just before the incident took place, Bommai said that the blast had nothing to do with his visit. “There is nothing to do with my visit to Mangaluru. I finished the event and returned to Bengaluru by 3 pm,” he said.
Talking about the Popular Front of India (PFI) link to the blast, Bommai said that everything will come out once the investigation is complete. (ANI)