Rameshwaram Cafe blast: Accused initially wanted to attack state BJP office in Bengaluru, says NIA

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday charged four men over the Rameshwaram Cafe blast.

According to the central agency, the accused targeted the popular restaurant after having failed to attack the state BJP office in Bengaluru on January 22, 2024, the day of the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Investigators identified the accused as Mussavir Hussain Shazib, Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taaha, Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Muzammil Shareef. The four were charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosive Substances Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. All four are currently in judicial custody.

As per the central agency, Taaha and Shazib were funded by their handler through cryptocurrencies, which Taaha converted to Fiat with the help of various Telegram-based P2P platforms.

"The funds were used by the accused to perpetrate various acts of violence in Bengaluru, investigations further revealed. These included a failed IED attack at the state BJP Office, Malleswaram, Bengaluru, on the day of Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ayodhya on January 22, 2024, after which the two key accused had planned the Rameshwaram Café blast. Investigations in the case are continuing,” the NIA said in a statement.

Accompanied by investigating officers from the central agency, Special Public Prosecutor for the NIA, P Prasanna Kumar, filed the 1,700-page charge sheet before the NIA Special Court in Bengaluru. A total of 429 witnesses were listed in the charge sheet.

The agency claimed that Taaha and Shazib had used "fraudulently" obtained Indian SIM cards and Indian bank accounts, and also used various Indian and Bangladeshi identity documents downloaded from the Dark Web. "Investigations further revealed that Taaha had been introduced by an ex-convict, Shoaib Ahmed Mirza, to Mohammed Shaheed Faisal, an absconder in the LeT Bengaluru conspiracy case. Taaha then introduced Faisal, his handler, to Mehaboob Pasha, an accused in the Al-Hind ISIS module case, and to Khaja Mohideen, Amir of ISIS South India, and later also to Maaz Muneer Ahmed,” the NIA said.

"The investigations revealed that Shazib was the man who had planted the bomb. He, along with Taaha, had previously been absconding since 2020 after the Al-Hind module was busted. Extensive searches by the NIA had led to their arrest from their hideout in West Bengal 42 days after the Rameshwaram cafe explosion.

"The two men, hailing from the Shivamogga district of Karnataka, were ISIS radicals and had earlier conspired to do Hijrah to ISIS territories in Syria. They were actively involved in radicalising other gullible Muslim youth to the ISIS ideology, and Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Muzammil Shareef were among such youth," it added.

The blast at the popular cafe in the Brookefield area occurred on March 1, injuring nine people and extensively damaging parts of the eatery. After an initial probe by the Bengaluru police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB), the NIA took over the investigation on March 3.