In a major success, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast mastermind and the man who planted an IED in the eatery. As per NIA, Mussavir Hussain Shazib planted the IED at the Rameshwaram Cafe, and Abdul Matheen Taha is the mastermind behind the planning and execution of the blast. Notably, NIA had released Rameshwara Cafe's suspect pics on social media and had also announced Rs 10 lakh bounty for their information. Both the accused were arrested near Kolkata in West Bengal. Below is what NIA said in its statement-
"On early morning hours of 12.04.2024, NIA were successful in tracing the absconding accused near Kolkata where they were hiding under false identities. This pursuit, successfully accomplished by NIA was ably supported by energetic co-ordinated action and co-operation between NIA, Central Intelligence agencies, and State Police agencies of West Bengal, Telengana (Telangana), Karnataka, and Kerala police."
NIA's statement further added, "Mussavir Hussain Shazib is the accused who placed the IED at the café and Abdul Matheen Taha is the mastermind behind the planning, execution of blast and subsequent evasion from the clutches of law."
For the unversed, the Rameshwarama Cafe blast case was handed over to the NIA on March 3, 2024. The blast took place at the cafe on March 1 in Bengaluru's Whitefield area, where several people were injured following an explosion that occurred during the busy lunch hour.
ISIS link in Rameshwaram cafe blast
As per reports, Abdul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazib are residents of Thirthahalli in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district. While Taha is an IT engineer, Shazib is suspected to be a key person influencing the Shivamogga Islamic State (IS) module.
Reports further suggest that the central investigative agency scanned over 300 CCTVs, and it found that Shazib and Taha, two ISIS members who emerged on the radar of security agencies in 2020, had carried out the blast. On March 29, the NIA released CCTV pictures from a clothing store at a Chennai mall which confirmed the identities of the main suspect and his associate. A cap that was abandoned by the missing suspect after planting the IED at the cafe had led the police to the mall.