Investigators to probe Rameshwaram Cafe blast accused’s links with terror groups: Minister

BENGALURU: A day after the arrest of two accused by the NIA for their alleged involvement in an IED blast incident at Bengaluru’s The Rameshwaram Cafe in Brookefield on March 1, Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Saturday that the investigating agencies are trying to ascertain whether the arrested accused have any links with terror organisations or not.

The two prime suspects in the Rameshwaram cafe blast incident, identified as Abdul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazib, were arrested by the NIA from Kolkata on Friday. Following their arrest, they were produced before an NIA court in Kolkata on Friday, and the agency got the three-day transit remand of the accused duo.

#WATCH | Tumakuru: On NIA arrested two accused in Bengaluru café blast case, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara says, "NIA has done a wonderful job. Our Karnataka police have done a wonderful job. Both of them hail from Karnataka. They studied together. I was told… pic.twitter.com/HU0UJDhDl8

— ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2024

Parameshwara also added that the investigating agencies will confirm if the accused were trying to flee to Bangladesh as there were apprehensions of them trying to do so. “We are investigating the real motive behind the blast and their involvement with other terror outfits (ISIS), as these two (accused) are supposed to be involved in the earlier Shivmogga blast and were on the run for three to four days ahead of their arrest in this case”, Parameshwara said.

“At this point, we don’t have a specific input, but it is possible that they wanted to flee the country as they were caught in West Bengal, which is a border state with Bangladesh. Whether someone is helping from that side (Bangladesh) will be found out in due course”, he added.

#WATCH | Tumakuru: On NIA arrested two accused in Bengaluru café blast case, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara says, "…We started investigating. All inputs were shared with NIA. Our police have shared very good inputs. In fact, the cap that he (the accused) was wearing… pic.twitter.com/pjmHVOFh9b

— ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2024

Further, the Home Minister lauded the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and state police for doing a good job and said he is proud of their work. “Both the NIA and Karnataka State Police have done a wonderful job. Initially, we got all the CCTV footage and kept track of one of the accused, which helped in their arrest. Our police shared very good inputs with the NIA, like the cap the accused is wearing, which was purchased from Chennai, and the telephone number he has given in the shop”, he pointed out.

Parameshwara expressed regret over the blast incident, and both accused hail from his home state as well. “Unfortunately, this happened in Bengaluru and both of them hail from Shivamogga and had studied together, as I was told”, he said.

When asked about the BJP calling West Bengal a safe ‘haven’ for terrorists as the accused were arrested in Kolkata, he said, “At this point of time, we should leave to the investigating agencies, and the BJP should not involve itself in making such political statements. We all should work together in such cases where the internal security of the country is getting questioned. We cannot be fighting like cats and dogs; we have to fight together”.  (ANI)