NIA questions three more jailed terror suspects over Rameshwaram Cafe blast

Bengaluru: Expediting the probe into the bomb blast at Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has questioned three more jailed terror suspects and released two videos of the alleged bomber. 

With this, the central agency has questioned four jailed terror suspects over the low-intensity blast that injured 10 people at the popular restaurant on March 1. No arrests have been made, however. 

P Prasanna Kumar, the central agency's Special Public Prosecutor, moved an application in the NIA court on Thursday for questioning three suspects lodged in Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara prison. Following the court's permission, NIA sleuths questioned Syed Sameer (19), of Ballari; Anas Iqbal Sheikh, 23, of Mumbai; and Shayan Rahman alias Hussain, 26, of Delhi, on Thursday and Friday, Kumar told DH. 

On Wednesday, the NIA questioned Minhaj alias Mohammed Sulaiman, 26, a cloth merchant from Ballari, who is also lodged in the Bengaluru prison. 

Some reports claimed that the agency had taken the four suspects into custody, but a well-placed source insisted that the NIA only "questioned" them inside the prison. 

The four men, along with five others, were arrested by the NIA on December 18, 2023, on suspicion of “carrying out terror acts, especially IED blasts”. 

The eight men are said to be part of the so-called Ballari module that allegedly planned to use the explosive raw materials for the fabrication of IEDs. The NIA believes Sulaiman was their "ringleader".

On Friday, the NIA released two fresh videos of the suspected bomber.

The first footage shows the man with an athletic build — wearing a light blue mask, dark blue jeans, a light purple T-shirt, a wristwatch and a backpack — getting on an ordinary BMTC bus (KA57F4233) at 2.03 pm on the day of the blast. He initially occupies a seat next to the rear door but eventually sits on the last row. He exits the bus at 3.40 pm. 

The second footage shows him pacing the concourse of the Ballari Bus Station at 9.01 pm on the same day. 

The NIA has already announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to the suspect's arrest. Citizens can call 08029510900, 8904241100 or write to [e-mail] to share information.