‘Act of terror’: Karnataka top cop on Mangaluru blast

The blast in Karnataka’s Mangaluru was “not accidental” but an “act of terror”, the state’s top cop said on Sunday.

In a tweet, the Director General of Police (DGP) wrote: “It’s confirmed now. The blast is not accidental but an act of terror with intention to cause serious damage.” The Karnataka Police, he further added, is probing deep into it along with central agencies.

The major update pertains to Saturday’s incident when an autorickshaw caught fire; the driver and a passenger had sustained burn injuries, police said. CCTV footage – that captured the explosion – showed plumes of smoke coming out of the autorickshaw. “Around 5.15 pm, fire was spotted in an autorickshaw. The driver has said that fire was spotted inside a bag carried by the passenger. The driver and the passenger suffered burn injuries. We have shifted them to a hospital,” Police commissioner N Shashi Kumar was quoted as saying in an HT report earlier. The driver was learnt to have told police that there was a sudden fire.

Following the incident, forensic teams had also reached the spot to collect samples.

Earlier in 2020, a scare was triggered at the Mangaluru International airport after which a bomb disposal squad detonated an explosive device that was found in an unattended bag by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The man linked to the case had later surrendered.