Special NIA court accepts guilty plea of key accused in Mangaluru cooker blast case
Bengaluru: Mohammed Shariq, the main accused in the 2022 Mangaluru cooker bomb blast case, filed a guilty plea that was approved by a special court for terrorism crimes in Bengaluru. A new hearing date has been scheduled by the court to formally record his plea.
The Indian Express reported that the explosion happened on November 19, 2022, inside an autorickshaw in Mangaluru. On April 20, 2024, Shariq, a 27-year-old Shivamogga resident, first entered a not guilty plea to charges relating to terrorism. Later, in December 2025, he filed a motion under Section 229 of the Cr.P.C. to enter a guilty plea, which the court granted on March 26.
In its order, the special court said the application filed by accused No.1 Mohammed Shariq under Section 229 of the Cr.P.C. was allowed and that it was necessary to record his plea again after reading out the charges framed earlier on April 20, 2024.
Shariq sustained severe burn injuries when the improvised explosive device he was allegedly carrying detonated on his lap due to an alleged error in setting the timer. He was arrested by the National Investigation Agency after being discharged from a hospital in Mangaluru.
Investigators have described Shariq as an alleged member of an Islamic State-linked module based in Shivamogga, suspected to be involved in multiple terror-related incidents in Karnataka since 2020. He was already wanted in a terror case registered in Shivamogga in September 2022 in connection with alleged testing of improvised explosive devices.
According to the investigation, members of the Shivamogga module are also accused in the March 1, 2024 blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru. The device used in that case was said to be similar in nature to the one allegedly carried by Shariq in Mangaluru. Mussavir Hussain, described as a founding member of the module, and Abdul Matheen Taha have been arrested in connection with that case.
The module is suspected to have received over Rs 3 lakh in cryptocurrency from handlers between 2020 and 2022. Investigators have alleged that Shariq trained others in assembling IEDs. He had also allegedly transferred cryptocurrency funds to Syed Yasin to the account of a co-accused in the Mangaluru case for procuring materials to test a device in Shivamogga during August-September 2022.
Shariq who is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate, had earlier been arrested in 2020 for painting anti-national graffiti in Mangaluru. He had also spent eight months in jail in 2021 in a related case. He has not sought to plead guilty in the 2022 Shivamogga IED testing case.
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India dismisses report of Musk joining Modi-Trump call; says it was between 2 leaders only
New Delhi (PTI): India on Saturday rejected a media report that said billionaire Elon Musk joined a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump earlier this week.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Tuesday's conversation was between the two leaders only.
The New York Times, quoting unnamed US officials, reported that Musk participated in the call between Trump and Modi, adding it was an "unusual appearance" by a private citizen on a call between two heads of state.
"We have seen the story. The telephone conversation on March 24 was between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump only," Jaiswal said.
"As has been stated earlier, it provided the opportunity for exchange of views on the situation in West Asia," he said.
In its report, the New York Times said it is "unclear" why Musk was on the call or whether he spoke.
Our prime minister only spoke to Trump and there was no one else who spoke to the PM, people familiar with the matter said.
They suggested that it is for Washington to clarify if somebody else was in the room or listening to the conversation.
The New York Times said Musk's participation in the phone call signalled a reconciliation between the billionaire and Trump.
The two had fallen out last year following Musk's exit from a government task force charged with slashing the federal workforce.
The US president had initiated the phone call with Modi to discuss the West Asia crisis.
It was the first conversation between the two leaders since the West Asia conflict began on February 28.
In the conversation, Modi underlined the importance of ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible, noting that it is vital for global peace, stability and economic well-being.
