Rameshwaram Cafe blast: Key accused in blast held by NIA in Kolkata
On early morning hours on Friday, NIA said, its teams were successful in tracing the absconding accused near Kolkata, where they were hiding under false identities.
NIA arrests mastermind and bomber from Kolkata (ANI)
CHENNAI: The sleuths from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a significant development in the Rameswaram cafe blast case, which happened in Bengaluru on March 1 arrested two key accused.
According to a report, the two suspects Mussavir Hussain Shazeb and Abdul Matheen Taha, have been arrested in Kolkata this morning.
On early morning hours of Friday, NIA was successful in tracing the absconding accused where they were hiding under false identities
The two were apprehended in a cooperative operation by the police teams in Kerala, West Bengal, Telengana, and Karnataka.
"This pursuit, successfully accomplished by NIA was ably supported by energetic coordinated action and co-operation between NIA, Central Intelligence agencies, and State Police agencies of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala police," the NIA said in a statement. The arrests come days after the anti-terror agency in a bid to bolster its investigation into the case, widened its scope by delving into the social circles and past associations of the accused, including friends in school-time and college.
As part of its investigation process, the anti-terror agency had also intensified its efforts in the case by summoning and scrutinizing some acquaintances, including college and school-time friends, of both absconding and arrested accused. NIA said that the individuals from various spheres of the suspects' lives were being called in for questioning to gather crucial evidence and information pertinent to the case.
The move was part of the agency's strategy to piece together the puzzle surrounding the alleged activities of the accused. With a focus on tracing the suspects' connections and possible motives, the NIA said, it left no stone unturned in its pursuit of justice. The NIA had also requested "the cooperation of all in arrest of absconding accused persons."
As part of investigation into Rameshwaram Cafe blast dated March 1 at ITPL Road in Bengaluru's Whitefield, Bengaluru, the NIA had identified the two key accused person who carried out the IED blast.
The two accused are residents of Thirthahalli area in Karnataka's Shivamogga district. Further, as part of investigation one Muzammil Shareef, a resident of Khalsa in Chikkamagaluru, who extended logistics support to the main accused persons, was arrested on March 26 and was examined in police custody.
As part of efforts to locate and arrest the absconding accused persons, the NIA had conducted searches on 18 locations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Earlier on March 29, the NIA also declared rewards of Rs 10 lakh on each of the two key absconders.
As DT Next had reported, the officials earlier reportedly found out that Shazib and his associate Abdul Mathern Taha had stayed in lodges in Triplicane in Chennai for nearly for a month before he travelled to Bengaluru and detonated the bomb at the cafe.
With inputs from ANI
