Bomb suspect flown in, to be produced in Mangaluru court

Mangaluru, Jan 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) Mangaluru airport bomb suspect Aditya Rao, arrested on surrendering in Bengaluru on Wednesday, was flown to this port city in western Karnataka for custody and interrogation, the police said.

"A special investigation team (SIT) brought Rao here in a commercial flight after obtaining a transit remand from a Bengaluru court. He will be produced in a local court on Thursday. We will seek custody to interrogate him in the bomb case," a police official told IANS.

Mangaluru is about 360 km from Bengaluru in the southern state.

"On Friday Rao will be taken to the airport and other places from where he collected the material for the improvised explosive device (IED). He left the IED in a backpack at an airline counter on Monday," the officer said.

A bomb squad later detonated the IED in an open field, away from the airport on Monday.

During the day, the 36-year-old depressed mechanical engineer walked into the Karnataka Director General of Police office in Bengaluru around 9 a.m. and surrendered, admitting his alleged involvement in the case.

"We will ascertain from Rao if he acted on his own or if others are also involved in the making of the bomb (IED) and reasons for leaving it behind in a bag at the counter," said an official.

A resident of Manipal in the Udupi district, Rao is said to be a habitual offender. He was arrested in 2018 for making hoax calls to the Bengaluru airport and Bengaluru city railway station after he was rejected for a job at the airport.

"The suspect moved to Mangaluru after obtaining bail. He was released from the judicial custody two months ago," the official said.

Source: IANS