NEW DELHI : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday cracked down on multiple locations in four states as part of its efforts to uncover the entire conspiracy behind the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case and to identify the other conspirators involved in handling the accused from abroad.
In a coordinated action, NIA teams searched 11 locations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, said the NIA.
Extensive searches were conducted at the premises linked with 11 suspects in the case, in which an IED explosion at the cafe on ITPL Road, Brookefield in Bengaluru, Karnataka, had left several customers and staff members injured. The attack, which took place on March 1 this year, also caused massive damage to property.
The 11 suspects whose premises were searched today include individuals convicted in the 2012 Lashkar-e-Taiba conspiracy case in Bengaluru and Hubli districts. The targeted searches led to the seizure of various digital devices and documents, which the NIA is examining exhaustively.
NIA had taken over the case (RC-01/2024/NIA/BLR) from Karnataka State Police on March 3 this year and had arrested two accused, Mussavir Hussain Shazib and Abdul Matheen Taha, from their hideout in Kolkata (West Bengal) on April 12, after a nationwide hunt. The duo, both residents of Thirthahalli, Shivamogga district, were identified as the perpetrator and the mastermind, respectively, of the attack. (ANI)