Court extends NIA custody of Rameshwaram cafe blast case accused by 7 days

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, April 23, 2024: A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Monday extended the custody of the two accused in the Bengaluru Rameshwaram cafe blast case by seven days, until April 29. The accused, Abdul Mateen Taha and Mussavir Hussain, were arrested by the NIA on April 12 in West Bengal.

 

The blast case accused were produced before the NIA special court on Monday after their initial custody period expired.

Following their arrest, the court granted the NIA a three-day transit remand for the accused. The anti-terror agency alleged that Hussain planted the bomb at the cafe, while Mateen Taha orchestrated the blast.

Both accused were already wanted in a 2020 terrorism case. According to the NIA, Taha was associated with the Bengaluru Module of ISIS — Al Hind.

The NIA had revealed that the accused were using false identities to evade police. In a statement, the NIA mentioned that the arrests were the result of coordinated efforts between central intelligence agencies and police from West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala.

The explosion at Rameshwaram cafe in Bengaluru’s Brookfield area on March 1 left at least 10 people injured.

Following the blast, Shazib boarded a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus to Goraguntepalya. From there, he traveled via state-run buses to Tumkur, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Nellore (in Andhra Pradesh), and eventually Kolkata via Odisha.

Sources indicated that both Shazib and Taha were receiving continuous instructions from a foreign handler. The arrests could uncover a sleeper cell network operating across multiple states, including Karnataka.

Courtesy: India Today