Mangaluru: Still battling the physical and financial scars of 2022 pressure cooker blast, autorickshaw driver Purushotham Poojary Ujjodi voiced disappointment over the 10-year sentence awarded to the prime accused, saying he had hoped for life imprisonment. Purushotham, who sustained severe burn injuries in the low-intensity blast inside his moving autorickshaw near Nagori on Nov 19 last year, said the punishment does not match the trauma he endured.Reacting to the verdict of the special NIA court, which sentenced the accused Mohammed Shariq to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, he said, “It has already been four years since the incident. Once he is out, what guarantee is there that he will not get involved in anti-national activities again?” Recalling his ordeal, Purushotham said he spent nearly 100 days in hospital and remained bedridden for over a year. “Even today, I spend around Rs 1,000 every 15 days on medicines,” he said, adding that the attack had upended his life. He also expressed concern over the lack of sustained financial support. “Apart from Mangaluru City South MLA D Vedavyas Kamath, who provided me with an autorickshaw and Rs 5 lakh, and the Gurubeladingalu Foundation led by R Padmaraj of Congress that helped renovate my house, I have not received any other compensation,” he said.Meanwhile, the VHP welcomed the verdict but said the punishment was too lenient, urging the NIA to seek a harsher sentence.
