Rameshwaram Cafe blast accused held near Kolkata
17-Apr-2024The blast at the popular cafe in Bengaluru on 1 March had injured 10 people. Earlier, one suspect, identified as Muzammil Shareef, was arrested in connection with the Bengaluru blast.
The two key accused, who plotted and executed last month’s blast at Rameshwaram Café in Bengaluru, were arrested from Kanthi in West Bengal’s East Medinipur district, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.
Adbul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazeb were traced to their hideout and were apprehended Friday morning, the NIA said in a statement.
According to the federal agency, Shazeb placed the improvised explosive device (IED) at the café while Taha is the mastermind behind the planning and execution.
The blast at the popular cafe in Bengaluru on 1 March had injured 10 people. Earlier, one suspect, identified as Muzammil Shareef, was arrested in connection with the Bengaluru blast.
In a joint operation carried out by the NIA, central intelligence agencies along with police teams of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala traced the absconding duo in East Medinipur district.
Taha and Shazeb were hiding under false identities, said the NIA. The police also seized laptops, mobiles and fake ID documents from the duo in East Medinipur.
Sources in the NIA told ThePrint that the duo was on the anti-terrorism agency’s radar previously in 2020. According to reports, Taha used cryptocurrency to finance and execute the operation.
