The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested one more accused in the Rameshwaram Café blast case, who was an ex-convict in a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror conspiracy case, about three days after a massive crackdown across four states.
Shoaib Ahmed Mirza alias Chhotu, 35, is a resident of Karnataka’s Hubbali and is the fifth accused to be arrested in the case.
NIA investigations found that Mirza, previously convicted in a LeT Bengaluru conspiracy case, got involved in a new conspiracy after being released from jail.
In 2018, he introduced Abdul Matheen Taha to an online handler suspected to be abroad and provided an email ID for encrypted communication between them. Taha was arrested in the case on April 12 in Kolkata along with co-accused Mussavir Hussain Shazib.
The blast, caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) at the cafe on ITPL Road, Brookfield, in Bengaluru, injured several customers and staff members.
During the investigation into the Rameshwaram Café blast on March 1, 2024, the NIA searched 29 locations across India. They are continuing to investigate the handler’s role and the larger conspiracy behind the blast, which injured several people and caused extensive property damage.
On Tuesday, the NIA conducted raids in multiple states to uncover the full conspiracy behind the blast and to identify other conspirators involved in “handling the accused from abroad”. NIA teams searched 11 locations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh in connection with the case. They conducted extensive searches at places linked to 11 suspects.
It said in a statement, “The NIA on Tuesday cracked down on multiple locations in four states as part of its efforts to uncover the entire conspiracy behind the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case and to identify the other conspirators involved in handling the accused from abroad.”
The NIA took over the case on March 3. On April 12, they arrested two key suspects, Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa (the mastermind) and Mussavir Hussain Shazib (the attacker), from their hideout in Kolkata, where they were using fake identities. Both suspects are from Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district, Karnataka. Officials say they are members of a Shivamogga-based Islamic State group.
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