In a significant breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested the alleged bomber and chief conspirator in Bengaluru’s The Rameshwaram Cafe blast case from a hotel near Kolkata early on April 12.
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The arrested have been identified as Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, 30, the alleged chief conspirator in the case, and Mussavir Hussain Shazib, around 30 years old, the alleged bomber at the restaurant in Brookfield, Bengaluru, on March 1, that left nine injured. The NIA had recently announced a reward of ₹10 Lakh for information leading to their arrest.
The duo came under the radar of security agencies in 2020, when they were accused in the Islamic State (IS)-inspired Al Hind module case busted in Bengaluru. The module wanted to allegedly start an IS-style insurgency from the jungles of south India and had spread its tentacles in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. While others in the case were arrested, the duo had managed to slip away and have been on the run since then.
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Both of them hailing from Thirthahalli, Shivamogga district in southern Karnataka, allegedly put together a module of youths they allegedly radicalised in their hometown. This module, which came to be known as “the Thirthahalli module”, is allegedly involved in a pro-terror graffiti case in Mangaluru in 2020, an IED trial blast in Shivamogga and cooker blast in Mangaluru in 2022, besides the Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru. “The kingpins of this module that had been active for four years now have now been arrested,” a senior official said.
Month-long manhunt
The NIA said they were traced to their hideout to a lodge near Kolkata, where they were staying under false identities. After the NIA sought their help, the West Bengal police apprehended the accused. The NIA said the month-long manhunt for the duo that ended on Friday morning was a coordinated effort of several Central agencies along with police forces of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, West Bengal among other States.
“Mussavir Hussain Shazib was identified by the NIA as the man who planted the IED at the cafe, while Abdul Matheen Taha was the mastermind behind the conspiracy, and had planned and executed the explosion. It was Abdul Matheen who also worked on the escape plans and managed to evade arrest all these weeks for himself and his co-accused,” the NIA said in a statement. The duo was presented before the NIA Special Court, Kolkata, which ordered their three days’ transit remand.
With these arrests, the total number of arrests in the case has gone up to four. Maaz Muneer Ahmed, presently lodged in a prison in another terror case of the same module, and Muzammil Pasha, from Chikkamagaluru have also been arrested earlier in the case.