Rameshwaram Cafe blast case: NIA conducts multi-state raids, detains two

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday held extensive searches across multiple locations in four states in connection with the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru in March this year that had injured 10 people.

Officials said that two, including a Bengaluru-based techie, were detained.

According to the Central agency, the team of investigators searched 11 locations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. “Extensive searches were conducted at the premises linked with 11 suspects in the case, in which an IED explosion at the café on ITPL Road, Brookefield in Bengaluru, Karnataka, had left several customers and staff members injured. The attack, which took place on March 1, 2024, had also caused massive damage to property,” the agency said in a statement.

Well-placed sources said that Sohail, a techie based in Bengaluru and an unidentified businessman were detained. Sohail was detained from his home in Rayadurgam in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district and the 50-year-old Pune-based businessman was detained in Vikarabad in Telangana.

NIA officials raided the residence of a retired headmaster Abdul in Atmakur Street in Rayadurgam and questioned his son Sohail. Sources in the NIA said that Sohail was questioned about huge deposits in his bank accounts.

A team of officials also raided the houses belonging to two doctors being trained at a private hospital in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The doctors, both from Karnataka, lived separately in Coimbatore and the searches began early in the morning and continued till 8.30 to 9 am, sources said, adding that no detentions were made. 

The Central agency said that the 11 suspects whose premises were searched included some convicted in the 2012 LeT Conspiracy case of Bengaluru and Hubballi. “The targeted searches led to the seizure of various digital devices and documents, which the NIA is examining exhaustively,” the agency said.

Following the IED blast on March 1, the NIA took over the case after the Bengaluru police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) initially held the investigation.

On April 12, the NIA announced the arrest of 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 duo had stayed in a hotel in Purba Medinipur's Digha, 184 km from Kolkata, under assumed identities by producing fake Aadhar cards.

Well-placed sources had told DH that Shazib and Taahaa's involvement was suspected by the CCB even before the NIA took over the case. 

On March 28, the Central agency announced the arrest of Muzammil Shareef, a resident of Kalasa taluk in Chikkamagaluru who provided logistical support to Shazib and Taahaa, following massive raids in 18 locations in different parts of the country. It was the first arrest in the case.

As per the agency, Shazib planted the IED, while Taahaa planned and executed the blast. The duo has been on the agency’s radar since 2019. "Taahaa also worked on the escape plan and managed to evade arrest for himself and Shazib," the agency said.