NIA Seeks Life Sentence for Mangaluru Cooker Blast Convict Mohammed Shariq

On July 1, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) approached the Karnataka High Court in Bengaluru, seeking to enhance the 10-year prison sentence of bomb blast convict Mohammed Shariq to life imprisonment. The central agency also requested financial compensation for the autorickshaw driver who was injured in the November 19, 2022 cooker blast in Mangaluru.

Shariq, a 27-year-old commerce graduate from Shivamogga, had previously pleaded guilty to terrorism and conspiracy charges. Following his plea, a special court for terrorism cases sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment on April 27.

The NIA's appeal, filed on July 1, asks the High Court to set aside the special court's sentencing order and consequently award Shariq a life sentence. The High Court scheduled a hearing for the matter on July 9.

The case stems from an incident on November 19, 2022, when a homemade cooker bomb Shariq was carrying accidentally detonated on his lap inside an autorickshaw in Mangaluru. Shariq suffered serious injuries in the blast, as did the driver of the vehicle.

According to investigators, Shariq built the bomb using do-it-yourself techniques he learned online after being influenced by the Islamic State. He had intended to plant the improvised explosive device (IED) in a public place in Mangaluru. The NIA arrested Shariq after he was discharged from a Mangaluru hospital.

The special court had sentenced Shariq to 10 years under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967. He also received concurrent 10-year sentences under the Indian Penal Code for attempt to murder, causing grievous injuries, and criminal conspiracy, alongside charges under the Explosive Substances Act.

Shariq had filed a guilty plea application on March 26, which was allowed by the special court. Investigators viewed his decision to plead guilty as an attempt to secure an early release from prison.

At the time of the 2022 Mangaluru blast, Shariq was already wanted in connection with a September 2022 terror case involving an Islamic State module that tested IEDs on a river bed in Shivamogga. He had also been arrested in 2020 for painting anti-national graffiti on a wall in Mangaluru.