Mangaluru: The NIA Special Court in Bengaluru has convicted and sentenced Mohammed Shariq, the prime accused in the Mangaluru cooker bomb blast case, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment — marking the conclusive end of a four-year-long trial that kept coastal Karnataka on edge. The court pronounced the verdict on Monday, April 27, 2026, finding Shariq guilty of masterminding a sophisticated IED bomb blast that rocked an autorickshaw near Kankanady railway station in Mangaluru on November 19, 2022.
The blast, which injured both Shariq and auto driver Purushottam Poojary, was not a random act of violence. Investigators established that Shariq, operating as a lone-wolf operative inspired by the ISIS terrorist organisation, had methodically planned a series of bombings across Karnataka. A major catastrophe was narrowly averted only because the bomb detonated prematurely inside the vehicle.
On the evening of November 19, 2022, residents near Naguri, Kankanady, heard a thunderous explosion from a moving autorickshaw. The blast originated from a pressure-cooker improvised explosive device (IED) fitted with a detonator, circuit board, and batteries, a device designed to function as a suicide bomb. Shariq, who was the sole passenger, and driver Purushottam Poojary sustained serious injuries. Poojary's health has since improved following medical treatment.
When police arrived at the scene, they recovered the charred remains of a pressure cooker packed with explosive components. The preliminary investigation immediately flagged the incident as a targeted terror attack, prompting the central government to transfer the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) given its national-security implications.
The NIA's investigation peeled back the layers of a carefully orchestrated conspiracy. Shariq, who possessed a fake Aadhaar card in the name of "Premraj" from Hubballi, had rented a house in Mysuru that he used as a clandestine bomb-making laboratory. Investigators found evidence of bomb-making materials stored at the premises, establishing that Shariq had been in the advanced stages of planning multiple attacks across the state.
The NIA established that Shariq was radicalised by and operated under the ideological influence of the Islamic State (ISIS). He is described in agency documents as a "lone wolf" — an individual who plans and executes attacks independently without direct operational command from an organised cell, making him particularly difficult to track before the act. Investigators believe his primary target was either the Kadri temple or a heavily crowded public space in Mangaluru, a city known for its communal sensitivity.
The court's acceptance of all key charges, including the sweeping UAPA provisions, underscores the judicial acknowledgement that the Mangaluru blast was not merely a criminal act but a deliberate act of terrorism directed against the Indian state and its citizens.
The NIA Special Court in Bengaluru conducted a rigorous, evidence-intensive trial spanning four years. Prosecutors presented forensic evidence, witness testimonies, digital trails, and investigative reports that collectively painted an undeniable picture of premeditated terrorism. The court scrutinised each piece of evidence before arriving at the guilty verdict and the sentence of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for Shariq.
The verdict is being seen as a significant milestone for India's counter-terrorism jurisprudence, demonstrating the NIA's capacity to build watertight cases against individuals operating under the lone-wolf model of radicalisation. Security analysts note that the conviction sends a strong message that ISIS-inspired domestic operatives will face the full force of Indian law.
The 2022 Mangaluru autorickshaw blast had sent shockwaves through coastal Karnataka, a region historically sensitive to communal tensions. The revelation that a lone operative with a fake identity and a bomb-making facility had been operating within the state amplified security concerns. Today's verdict has brought a measure of judicial closure to the residents of Mangaluru and to auto driver Purushottam Poojary, who narrowly escaped death and has since recovered.
Law enforcement officials have maintained heightened surveillance in the coastal belt since the 2022 incident. The successful prosecution of Shariq is expected to reinforce inter-agency intelligence cooperation between the NIA, Karnataka Police, and central security agencies in monitoring radicalisation networks across the state.
