NIA Secures Transit Remand Of Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe Blast Mastermind, Co-Accused

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been granted a three-day transit remand for the two prime suspects in the Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe blast case. The suspects, Adbul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazib, were arrested near Kolkata by the NIA team on Friday. The blast, which occurred at the Bengaluru cafe on March 1, resulted in nine injuries.

"The absconders in the Rameswaram Cafe blast case, Abdul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazib, were traced to their hideout near Kolkata and arrested by the NIA team. In the early morning hours of April 12, the NIA successfully located the absconding accused near Kolkata, where they were hiding under false identities," stated an NIA spokesperson.

The West Bengal Police assisted in the arrest of the accused from Purba Medinipur district in a joint operation with the NIA. "They had been staying in a hotel in Digha for 3-4 days under different names," said a senior police official from Purba Medinipur district. The suspects had reportedly been hiding in the state for several days.

The suspects had reportedly been hiding in the state for several days.

Last month, the NIA released photographs and details of Taha, 30, and Shazib, offering a reward of Rs 10 lakh for each. "Shazib is the accused who placed the IED at the café, while Taha is the mastermind behind the planning and execution of the blast and their subsequent evasion from law enforcement," the spokesperson explained.

Taha and Shazib hail from Thirthahalli in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka. While Taha is an IT engineer, Shazib is suspected to be a key person influencing the Shivamogga Islamic State (IS) module.

The NIA coordinated with central intelligence agencies and state police agencies of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala in the investigation. The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru city police also assisted the NIA.

After scanning CCTV footage from over 300 cameras, the NIA 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.

The NIA has indicated that Taha stayed at lodging facilities in Chennai in February ahead of the bombing using the fake identities of 'Vignesh' and 'Sumit'. Shazib allegedly went by the name 'Mohammed Juned Sayed' in Chennai.

"The NIA has also named two more people as the accused in the case. One of them, Maaz Muneer Ahmed, 26, was in prison at the time of the incident. The other accused is Muzammil Shareef, 30, who was arrested by the NIA on March 27 for providing logistics like cell phones, fake SIM cards and other materials that were used to plan and execute the blast," an official said.