A man most wanted in relation to the explosion that occurred earlier this month at the Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe which injured ten people was taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) today. The suspect named Shabir was taken into custody in Ballary this morning.
According to police sources, Shabir is thought to be a prime suspect’s accomplice. The prime suspect was captured on security camera footage shortly before the explosion leaving a bag at the cafe.
Since taking over the case on March 3, the anti-terror agency has asked for the public’s help in identifying the key suspect, who is thought to have put an IED (improvised explosive device) in the well-known Bengaluru restaurant on March 1.
At approximately 9 pm on the same day, further video footage shows the suspect walking around a bus stop. Prior to that, around an hour after the explosion at the cafe, he was observed getting on a bus. At around 3 pm, a state bus departs Bengaluru from the suburbs and travels to Tumkur, which is about 60 kilometres outside the city. The investigation team claims that following the incident, the suspect changed his clothes about 3 kilometres from the cafe. He took off his shirt and baseball cap and appeared in a casual T-shirt.
This past week, the Rameshwaram Cafe reopened with tighter security. To protect both customers and employees, metal detectors have been placed at the entry, and customers must pass through screening utilizing handheld detectors.
