The National Investigative Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested two prime suspects, including the main conspirator and the man seen in CCTV footage placing the explosive-laden bag inside Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, officials said.
The absconding suspects, identified as Mussavir Hussain Shazib and Adbul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, were traced to their hideout near Kolkata and apprehended by an NIA team, they said, as PTI reported.
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According to officials, Shazib was the one who placed the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the cafe and Taahaa was the mastermind behind the planning and execution of the blast. “In the morning hours of April 12, 2024, NIA was successful in tracing the absconding accused near Kolkata where they were hiding under false identities,” an official confirmed.
The NIA, along with central intelligence agencies and state police agencies of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala, coordinated efforts in pursuing the suspects. Last month, the NIA released photographs and details of Taahaa, 30, and Shazib, announcing a reward of Rs 10 lakh for each.
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The investigation also led to the naming of two more suspects in the case: Maaz Muneer Ahmed, 26, who was in prison at the time of the incident, and Muzammil Shareef, 30, arrested by the NIA on March 27 for providing logistics such as cell phones and fake SIM cards used in planning the blast.
It was discovered that Taahaa used the cryptocurrency route to finance the operation, employing various conduits, including stolen identities and IDs of people recruited for the ISIS cause in different parts of India, to transfer cryptocurrency to Muzammil Shareef for arranging logistics for the March 1 cafe blast.
The blast, caused by an IED explosion, occurred at a cafe on ITPL Road, Brookefield, Bengaluru, on March 1, which was later taken over by NIA on March 3.