Bengaluru cafe blast main suspect identified, linked to IS module: Sources

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Mar 23, 2024: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has identified the suspect in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast case. According to sources, the NIA examined more than 1,000 CCTV cameras in the vicinity, as the probe continued.

 

Later, the suspect was identified as Mussavir Hussain Shazib, they said.

The agency also revealed that the suspect hailed from Shivamogga in Karnataka’s Thirthahalli district.

The NIA made the revelations after it found the cap the suspect was seen wearing in various CCTV videos, sources said, adding, the cap was purchased from a Chennai mall, thus, implying that the suspect had resided in Chennai for more than a month since January, this year.

One of Shazib’s accomplices was also identified by the anti-terror agency, as Abdul Mateen Taha, also a native of Thirthahalli. Taha was wanted for the murder of Tamil Nadu police inspector, K Wilson, and stayed with the main suspect in Chennai.

Sources said Taha was also a part of the ISIS module in Shivamogga. The same was confirmed by members of the module, who were earlier arrested.

Taha was also seen in a CCTV footage where he had conducted recce of the cafe a day before the blast.

HOW NIA IDENTIFIED THE SUSPECT BY A CAP

According to the National Investigation Agency, Taha always used to wear a cap which he had bought while he stayed in Triplicane.

The suspected bomber, Shazib, was seen wearing the same cap on the day of the blast.

The anti-terror agency found that these caps are a limited edition series and that only 400 pieces of the product were sold.

In a CCTV footage, the NIA officials found Taha purchasing the cap from a Chennai mall. Following the blast, the suspect had dropped the cap at some distance from the cafe.

Upon investigation, it was revealed the cap was purchased towards the end of January from the mall.

Sources with the NIA also said they found hair in the cap, which was sent to the forensics. The report confirmed a match with the DNA samples of the parents of the main suspect, Shazib.

Later, Shazib’s parents saw his CCTV footage and confirmed that the person seen was his son.

The NIA was now investigating whether Shazib had travelled from Chennai and planted an explosive at the Bengaluru cafe.

The agency also said the suspect was last seen in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore.

Ten people were injured in the low-intensity blast at the popular cafe in Bengaluru on March 1. The explosion was carried out by triggering an IED bomb using a timer.

Courtesy: India Today