3 min readBengaluruJul 1, 2026 03:05 PM IST
The investigation into a fatal car explosion on National Highway-48 in Karnataka’s Tumakuru last week has uncovered an alleged crude country bomb supply chain in the Uttara Kannada district, leading to four arrests.
While the Tumakuru police have arrested the alleged supplier of the explosives, a follow-up probe by the Ankola police resulted in the arrest of three others accused of possessing and concealing the crude, country-made bombs.
The cases are linked to an incident on June 27, when Nagendra, 30, allegedly abducted a woman from Bengaluru at knifepoint in an Uber cab. The police said that while the cab was passing through the Sira subdivision, he allegedly attempted to attack the woman with a knife and threatened the driver, claiming he was carrying crude bombs.
A senior police officer said this prompted the driver to stop the vehicle near a roadside dhaba on National Highway-48. “The driver and the woman immediately got out of the cab. The driver began flagging down passing vehicles to rescue her, and a two-wheeler rider stopped and took her away from the spot,” the officer added.
The Uber driver managed to throw one crude bomb out of the vehicle after Nagendra allegedly tried to ignite it. Nagendra allegedly ignited another crude bomb inside the vehicle, triggering an explosion that killed him on the spot.
On the explosives trail
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by the Sira Sub-Division police launched an extensive probe, visiting Nagendra’s village in Uttara Kannada, the survivor’s village, and locations in Bengaluru where the accused had stayed before tracing the source of the explosives.
The investigation led to the arrest of George Niklov Fernandes, 64, a resident of Chandavar village in Uttara Kannada district, who allegedly supplied the crude bombs to Nagendra. He was arrested during a joint operation by the Tumakuru and Uttara Kannada police on Monday night.
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According to the police, the investigation further revealed that Fernandes had allegedly supplied crude bombs to three other people, prompting the registration of a separate case at the Ankola police station.
In the follow-up operation, the Ankola police arrested Narayan Gowda and Nagaraj Gowda, both residents of Honnalli village, and Sandeep Gowda of Shiragunji village in Ankola taluk. The police also searched the premises of Narayan and Nagaraj.
During questioning, the two allegedly admitted that they had stored country-made bombs for use in illegal fishing. They also told investigators that after Nagendra, who was their relative, died in the June 27 explosion, they hid the explosives in a nearby forest. Based on this information, the police recovered three crude, country-made bombs from the forest, which were seized and shifted for safe storage and disposal.
A case was registered at Ankola police station under sections of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, and on the charge of negligent conduct with respect to explosive substances under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
