Days following the release of two CCTV clips by the National Investigation Agency depicting a suspect in the Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, authorities have detained an individual who allegedly interacted with the suspect in Ballari on March 1.
The person taken into custody by the central investigative agency has been identified as Syed Shabbir.
CCTV footage showed the suspect at the Ballari bus stand around eight hours after the blast, at 8.58 pm on March 1, according to ongoing investigations. Additionally, on March 6, the NIA detained four individuals associated with a Ballari-based “ISIS module,” as documented in NIA records publicly available.
The investigative trail of the cafe blast suspect has been reconstructed through CCTV footage, detailing his escape route via two intra-state government buses to reach Ballari, and subsequently, to an undisclosed destination, police sources said.
The first video displayed him getting on a Volvo bus near the cafe. About 3 kilometres away, he changed his clothes, leaving behind a cap and shirt, and put on a casual T-shirt.
Another video placed him on a state bus leaving Bengaluru around 3 pm on the day of the blast, heading to Tumkur, which is about 60 km away. He was seen without a cap and in new clothes on this bus, and it’s believed he got off before reaching Tumkur.
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Six hours later, the CCTV footage shows him again at the Ballari bus stand at 8.58 pm. The police are carefully studying these videos to understand more about what happened.
An explosion rocked the Rameshwaram Cafe in Whitefield on March 1, causing severe injuries to nine people. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the blast was triggered by the use of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
The person in the case is the individual wearing a cap, mask, and glasses. Currently, he has not been captured by authorities and remains at large.
