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Two absconders in the Bengaluru Rameswaram Cafe blast case have been arrested from West Bengal, a spokesperson for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Friday and added one of them planted the low-intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while the other was the mastermind behind its planning and execution.
In a statement, the spokesperson identified the two as Abul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazeb. It added the two were traced to their hideout near Kolkata and that Shazeb is the accused of placing the IED at the café. “…Taha is the mastermind behind the planning, execution of blast and subsequent evasion from the clutches of law.”
People aware of the matter said the two were living under false identities in Kolkata and that they carried out the blast in coordination with some accused associated with ISIS. CCTV footage purportedly showed Shazeb near the cafe and subsequently on buses in Karnataka after the blast.
The spokesperson said the pursuit of the two accused was successfully and “ably supported by energetic co-ordinated action and co-operation between NIA, Central Intelligence agencies, and State Police agencies of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala police”.
One Muzammil Shareef was earlier arrested in the case on March 27 for allegedly providing logistics such as cell phones, fake SIM cards, etc used to plan and execute the low-intensity IED blast that left nine people injured.
The bomb went off at the busy Rameswaram Cafe and prompted a multi-agency probe. A preliminary investigation zeroed in on a man who left an unidentified bag near the cash counter.
Police recovered a battery and a timer from the blast site, indicating that the explosion was premeditated. Visuals from the immediate aftermath of the blast showed panicked people running away from the scene, sheltering themselves from shattered glass, strewn furniture, smoke, and fire.
A case was registered under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act and the Explosives Act in connection with the blast.
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