The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has disclosed that the individuals responsible for the March 1 blast at Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Café also attempted a bomb attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Malleshwaram, Bengaluru, on January 22, during the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ayodhya.
The failed attack on the BJP office preceded the Rameshwaram Café explosion, which injured nine people. The NIA’s charge sheet in the case names Abdul Matheen Taha, Mussavir Hussain Shazib, Maaz Muneer Ahmed, and Muzammil Shareef as the primary suspects. The agency identified Mohammad Shaheed Faisal, an absconder in a previous Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) case, as their handler.
The blast investigation revealed Shazib leaving a suspicious bag near the café’s cash counter. CCTV footage captured him traveling in Tumakuru with a backpack on the day of the blast. The NIA’s probe, which began on March 3, involved extensive technical and field investigations with state police and other agencies.
Taha and Shazib, previously on the run since 2020 after the Al-Hind module’s exposure, were eventually arrested in West Bengal after a 42-day search. The Al-Hind module, linked to ISIS, had planned attacks on various targets across India.
The NIA’s charge sheet further details Taha and Shazib’s radicalization activities, including their attempts to recruit others to ISIS and their use of fraudulent documents and cryptocurrencies to fund their operations. The agency is also seeking additional information on Faisal, suspected to be operating from the UAE.
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