Rameshwaram Cafe blast: NIA arrests bomber, mastermind from West Bengal

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday announced the arrest of two key suspects, including the one who allegedly planted the improvised explosive device (IED) at the Rameshwaram Cafe, ending a manhunt that lasted over a month. The blast at the popular eatery in the Brookefield area on March 1 had injured 10, according to the police.

The NIA investigators apprehended Mussavir Hussain Shazib, the suspected bomber, and Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, the alleged mastermind, from their hideout in Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal, the agency said adding that the explosion had occurred in the eatery's seating area near the plate washing area and the seating area.

The agency said that while Shazib planted the IED, Taahaa planned and executed the explosion. "Taahaa also worked on the escape plan and managed to evade arrest for himself and Shazib," the agency said. The duo were on the agency's radar since 2019.

Sources said the duo stayed under assumed identities in a hotel in Purba Medinipur's Digha, which is 184 km from Kolkata, by producing fake Aadhaar cards. It is suspected that the duo planned to cross over to a neighbouring country.

On March 28, the NIA announced the first arrest of Muzammil Shareef, a resident of Kalasa taluk in Chikkamagaluru, following massive raids in 18 locations in different parts of the country, including 12 in Karnataka. The NIA said that Shareef had provided logistical support to Shazib and Taahaa. The agency had also announced a Rs 10-lakh reward each for information on the duo. "Evidence found during the raid had revealed the escape plan of the suspects, which led the investigators to West Bengal," an officer on the condition of anonymity said.

The NIA Special Court in Kolkata, where the two suspects were produced during the day, granted three days' transit remand to the agency. The duo will be brought to Bengaluru shortly for further procedures.

The aftermath of the blast

Following the IED blast at 12.55 pm on March 1, Bengaluru police's Central Crime Branch (CCB) began the probe. Well-placed sources told DH that the CCB had suspected the involvement of Shazib and Taahaa even before the case was handed over to the NIA days later.

Several bits of CCTV footage emerged subsequently, showing the suspected bomber, now identified as Shazib, wearing a beige cap, a black backpack, a full-sleeved shirt, dark trousers, shoes, a facemask and spectacles entering the cafe at 11.34 am and exiting at 11.43 am. Investigators had said Shazib ordered a rava idly before planting the IED.

The movements of Shazib were then traced to Tumakuru and Ballari, where he was last seen on the night of the blast. During this time, Shazib had changed his outfit.

The key link

The cap abandoned by Shazib led the investigators to Chennai, where the duo had stayed at a lodge in Triplicane from January end to February 29 by producing fake Aadhaar cards and driving licence. Investigators had found that Taahaa bought the cap at a Chennai mall around the end of January.

Shazib checked out on February 29 and travelled to Bengaluru and on March 1, after reaching the city, planted the IED, which was assembled before he arrived, sources said, adding that the duo met later at a rendezvous and fled to West Bengal via Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

During the probe, a few jailed terror suspects of the IS-inspired Ballari module were questioned by the NIA, before it leaned towards the Islamic State (IS) module in Shivamogga and took into its custody Maaz Muneer Ahmed, another jailed terror accused, for questioning.

Who are Shazib and Taahaa?

Shazib and Taahaa, both in their thirties, are believed to be handlers of the Islamic State (IS) module in Shivamogga. As per the agency’s records, Shazib hailed from Masjid Road in Thirthahalli, Shivamogga district, and Matheen from Fish Market Road, Soppu Gude, Thirthahalli Rural.

On March 8, the NIA said it had named Shazib and Taahaa in the Shivamogga IS conspiracy case chargesheet. The agency said that based on the duo's instructions, Arafath Ali, a jailed terror accused, had indoctrinated two other accused, Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Mohammed Shariq to write graffiti supporting terror and terror outfits in two places in Mangaluru.

Shariq and Ahmed are currently jailed in the Mangaluru cooker blast case and the Shivamogga IS module case, respectively.