MADIKERI: The prime accused in the Mangaluru cooker bomb blast, Mohammed Shariq, had attended a nature camp workshop held at West Nemmele village near T Shettingeri in Ponnampet taluk of Kodagu district, the investigation has revealed.
According to police sources, he underwent training at the Votecad nature camp. A team of NIA officals and Mangaluru police visited the homestay on Monday, along with Revenue Department officials and are gathering more information.
The police have questioned Naveen, the owner of the homestay, and its staffer Ricky. They also instructed the homestay owner to visit Mangaluru next Monday.
During the questioning, Naveen told them that Shariq and his 11 associates, including two women, had stayed at the camp. But, Naveen declined to interact with media on the issue.
It was also revealed that the licence of the homestay had not been renewed by the gram panchayat for the last sixth month. The homestay owner also did not maintain a visitors’ registration book. As a result, not enough records about visitors are available.
Chotteyandamada Saritha, president of T Shettingeri Gram Panchayat said, “Now that it has been revealed that Shariq camped here, it has created fear among the villageres. Whoever runs homestays and resort should take the original documents and information of tourists or visitors. If they find any suspicious individual, the nearest police station should be informed. If the owner has proper information about visitors, it will help in such cases”.
Virajpet MLA K G Bopaiah claimed, “A few groups from another religious community are creating unrest in the nation in these days and are involved in violence. A conspiracy is being carried out systematically. Some anti-Hindu groups are targeting Hindu society, there is no doubt about that. After the bomb blast in Managluru, Kodagu is becoming a haven for terror activities. Police have also been monitoring such places, but they need to be more cautious”, he noted.
“There is information about terror activity around Madikeri and in some parts of Virajpet and Somwarapet taluks”, he added.