Prime accused Mohammed Shariq had dropped out of mobile repair course in Mysuru

Shariq had enrolled himself as Premraj using a stolen Aadhaar card; he attended classes irregularly, maintained a low profile and had little interaction with others

The Mangaluru blast accused Mohammed Shariq, who had enrolled in a private training institute to learn mobile repairs during his stay in Mysuru, was irregular in attending classes and did not complete the course.

A. G. Prasad, who runs the institute which imparts training in repairing computer hardware, mobiles and other gadgets, said the duration of the course was 45 days. However, Shariq was irregular and attended for about 20 days before dropping out.

At the time of enrolment, he said, Shariq had produced an Aadhaar card and registered himself as Premraj. Apart from his erratic attendance, Shariq used to maintain a low profile and was not seen interacting much with other students before he dropped out, Mr. Prasad said.

Besides, since the duration of the course is short and students tend to be focussed on getting trained and landing a job, there was little scope for building abiding friendship as in regular schools or colleges. Hence, his behaviour was not perceived as unusual at the time.

Shariq had sought admission about a month ago and completed only the theoretical portion. He had attended about 6 to 8 days of practical classes. There were another 15 to 20 days of hands-on training pending when he stopped coming altogether, said Mr. Prasad whose institute is close to MCC office.

“I have provided all the information that was available with me to the police and have been asked not to go out of the city for a few more days just in case they want some additional inputs. As such, I have not ventured out of Mysuru and tend to be at the institute conducting classes,” Mr. Prasad added.

Shariq lived for nearly two months in a rented house at Lokanayaknagar off the Outer Ring Road in Metagalli industrial area on the outskirts of the city. He had introduced himself to the house owner by the same alias — Premraj — and had stated that he was from Hubballi looking for a job in Mysuru.