Accused, who had rented a room in Mysuru, used SIM card, debit card given by Odisha-based operative

Mysore/Mysuru: Mangaluru autorickshaw-cooker bomb blast case accused 24-year-old Mohammed Shariq’s potential connections with Pakistani ISI agents have been revealed through ongoing investigations.

On June 11, the Odisha Special Task Force (STF) apprehended 31-year-old Pritam Kar, a resident of Bhurunga village in Jajpur district, in connection with an OTP sharing scam case.

Shariq, from Thirthahalli of Shivamogga district, was travelling in the auto-rickshaw with a pressure cooker fitted with a detonator, wires and batteries when it exploded on the outskirts of Mangaluru. Karnataka Police Chief later declared it a terror act and revealed that the accused has links with organised terror groups.

It is alleged that Pritam Kar facilitated a mobile SIM card and a debit card to an ISI agent, who subsequently passed the SIM card to Shariq. The Odisha STF has shared these findings with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is currently investigating the Mangaluru cooker blast case.

It may be recalled here that in November last year, it was discovered that Shariq had rented a room at Lokanayakanagar near Metagalli by providing a fake identity. The house near the Ring Road on Sanjeevini Main Road, 10th Cross, bearing number 434, has a passage that led to a small room where the accused stayed.

Rented room at Metagalli vacated: The Police and NIA teams had seized three cookers and several Improvised Explosive Device (IED)-making materials and tools from that rented place. Though at present the Mysuru City Police have no role in the investigation as the NIA has taken over the probe, Metagalli Inspector Diwakar told Star of Mysore this morning that the rented room has been vacated now and all the goods including the accused’s personal belongings have been seized by the NIA. “We do not have any role in the investigation as of now. The room has been given on rent by the landlord to another party,” Diwakar said.

SIM card and debit card: As per the Odisha Police, Pritam Kar and his associates have been involved in illegal activities such as sharing OTPs, mule accounts and preactivated digital wallets with cybercriminals, including Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs) & ISI agents, since 2017.

Pritam himself maintained direct communication with at least two PIO/ISI agents and had multiple physical meetings with them in different States. Recently, he received Rs. 1.5 lakh in exchange for selling OTPs, mule accounts and digital wallets, according to the STF.

Additionally, the STF discovered that Shariq used a SIM card and debit card provided by Pritam Kar. Pritam has been involved in the sale of thousands of pre-activated SIM cards, OTPs and mule accounts/digital wallets. His prices ranged from Rs. 1,000 per SIM card to up to Rs. 30,000 per account for mule accounts/digital wallets associated with various banks.