• Prime suspect rented a room at Lokanayakanagar with fake ID; Procured SIM card from Coimbatore  
• Police teams cordon off area near Metagalli; search rented room for vital clues and forensic evidence

Mysore/Mysuru: The autorickshaw blast where a pressure cooker was used in coastal Karnataka’s Mangaluru yesterday has a Mysuru link. The prime suspect in the case had rented a room at Lokanayakanagar near Metagalli by providing a fake identity.

This morning, a team of City Police, City Crime Branch and teams from Bengaluru raided the rented accommodation and Police sources said that three cookers and several Improvised Explosive Device (IED)-making materials and tools have been recovered. The Police top brass are, however, tight-lipped about the materials recovered and other details.

Karnataka Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP) Praveen Sood said that Police are probing along with Central agencies. It’s confirmed now. “The blast is not accidental but an ACT OF TERROR with intention to cause serious damage. Karnataka State Police is probing deep into it along with Central agencies,” he tweeted.

Blast in autorickshaw

The suspect boarded an autorickshaw that was coming from Mangaluru Railway Station to Naguri when the incident occurred yesterday. Police said that the main suspect is the passenger in the auto and he has sustained 50 percent burn injuries and is undergoing treatment at a hospital. The evidence collected from the explosion site has been sent to a forensic team for further investigation.

The house in Lokanayakanagar at Metagalli near the Ring Road on Sanjeevini Main Road, 10th Cross, bearing number 434, has a passage that led to a small room which was rented out by the prime suspect four months back. The house owner, about 62-year-old Mangalamma, stays in the front portion and she has no knowledge about her tenant.

Fake Aadhaar Card

The prime suspect identified himself as ‘Prem Raj Kanogi’ and produced an Aadhaar Card for the same with Hubballi address while renting out the room. The Police have barricaded the entry and exit of the road and the teams are conducting intensive searches for clues and forensic data.

Neighbours and the locality residents are shocked to learn that the prime suspect had stayed near their homes. Mangalamma too is shocked to realise that her house was used by the suspect to stay for four months. As the Police team arrived at her house, she sat in a corner. Taking pity on her plight, the Police got her breakfast and coffee.

According to the Police, the suspect has not paid last month’s rent and rarely mingled with his neighbours. The residents came to know about the suspect only when the Police teams and media personnel arrived in their locality this morning.

City Police Commissioner B. Ramesh was camping at the Metagalli Police Station and was collecting information. Sources said that more teams from Bengaluru will arrive at Metagalli now that the terror case has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).