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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Sameer Ahmed elected President of SKMWA Muscat for 2026–2027
Muscat: Sameer Ahmed, a native of Udupi and currently employed in a private company in Muscat, has been elected President of the South Kanara Muslim Welfare Association (SKMWA), Muscat, for the 2026–2027 term.
The election was conducted during the association’s Annual General Body Meeting held at Al Reef Hotel, Muscat, in the presence of chief guests Adil Shaikh, Monabba, Shareef, and Sahebzada Mehmood.
The newly elected office bearers include Vice Presidents Mohd Arif (Udupi) and Niyaz Mohammed (Mangalore), General Secretary Jaseem Basha (Kundapura), Joint Secretaries Rizwan Ali (Udupi) and Zaheer Hussain (Moodbidri), Treasurer Tajuddin Sheikh (Tonse), Assistant Treasurer Irfan Ahmed (Udyavara), Finance Secretary Mohammed Asif Gafur (Karkala), Assistant Finance Secretary Mohammed Akif Gafoor (Karkala), and Auditor Ashraf Ali (Kaup).
The Core Committee includes Event Coordinators Ansar Katipalla and Adil Moodbidri, and Sports Coordinators Ashpak Basrur and Muneer Ahmed (Sastan).
The programme commenced with a recitation from the Holy Quran by Zaid Asif. The Annual Activity Report for 2025 was presented by Sameer Ahmed, while the financial report was delivered by Mohammed Asif Gafoor and verified by Auditor Ashraf Ali.
Former president Azim was felicitated by Syed Mohiddin Saheb during the event.
The meeting concluded with an address by the newly elected president, followed by a vote of thanks proposed by General Secretary Jaseem Basha. The programme was coordinated by Syed Mohiddin Saheb (Sastan) and Ansar Katipalla.
