'Mangaluru blast accused got ISIS training, taught same to over 40 people'

Bengaluru: Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shobha Karandlaje on Friday said the Mangaluru blast accused had got 'Islamic State training' and had imparted the same to more than 40 people.

Terming the information available about the blast accused Mohammed Shariq (24) as scary, she said the accused came out on bail in the anti-India graffiti case because intense investigation did not take place.

The graffiti case refers to slogans praising terror groups that had surfaced on some public walls in Mangaluru city in November 2020. Shariq was arrested in connection with the case and later released on bail.

"He (Shariq) had given ISIS training to more than 40 people. There is information that he himself got ISIS training," Karandlaje told reporters here.

According to her, the suspected cooker bomb that exploded in a moving autorickshaw was meant for targeting the Kadri Manjunatha Swami Temple in Mangaluru.