With a pressure cooker bomb, Mohammed Shariq took a photo. It then exploded in his face

In pictures that have surfaced, Mohammed Shariq, the suspect in the Mangaluru auto explosion, is seen holding a pressure cooker with electrical wires in an “ISIS pose.” He couldn’t have known that the cooker bomb would explode in his face as he posed for that now-famous photograph.

Written by Devika Bhattacharya: Mohammed Shariq called an autorickshaw from Mangalore Railway Junction on Saturday morning. He was secretly carrying an explosive-filled pressure cooker. He informed the auto driver that his destination was Pumpwell circle while carrying a bogus Aadhar card.

Shariq was prepared to accomplish his goal to the letter. Even the best-laid schemes, though, can fail. Little did he realise that the IED pressure cooker device, his prized cargo, would explode minutes into the auto ride, leaving him and the driver severely injured and in the hospital.

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Shariq came under heavy investigation after the “mysterious blast in a moving autorickshaw” made national headlines. The entire evil scheme began to fall apart as soon as authorities declared the incident to be an act of terrorism and began a thorough investigation.

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On Monday, images of Shariq holding a pressure cooker with electrical cables in the air in a “ISIS stance” appeared online. He couldn’t have known that the cooker bomb would explode in his face as he posed for that now-famous photograph. Man proposes, and God disposes, as the saying goes.

As the investigation goes on, police have discovered that Shariq had ties to terrorism and had previously been arrested for spray-painting graffiti on walls in Mangaluru in violation of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He had been granted bail in the case and was also evading capture in a separate terror case.

A detonator, wires, and batteries that were used to set off the explosion were discovered to be installed in the cooker that was recovered from the crime scene. Police believe Shariq had connections to those responsible for the October car bombing in Coimbatore.

The explosion in the Coimbatore case happened when a gas cylinder blew up inside the automobile the accused was travelling in, which is a startling similarity. Shariq managed to survive the auto explosion, but Mubeen, the accused in the Coimbatore case, did not fare as well.