Bengaluru Rameshwaram cafe blast: Accused in custody for 10 days; links with other terrorist organizations to be investigated

BENGALURU: The suspects arrested by the NIA in the Rameswaram cafe blast have been remanded in police custody for ten days. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that they will investigate whether the accused have links with other terrorist organisations. He specifically complimented the state police for providing clues to the NIA which led to the arrest of the accused. He said that if the accused had not been caught, they could have escaped from Bengal to Bangladesh. It will be investigated whether they received any help from Bangladesh.

"The real motive behind the blast and their other activities are being investigated. It will also be probed whether the accused have anything to do with the Shivamogga blast. NIA and Karnataka Police have done a great job. All the CCTV footage was collected in the first phase of the investigation. One of the accused was tracked down. This helped in arresting the accused. The police shared with the NIA the information about the cap worn by the accused and that it was purchased from Chennai, as well as the telephone number given by the accused at the shop. The main accused were arrested 40 days after the blast. It is reported that Abdul Matheen Taha is the main planner in the case.

The explosion took place at Rameswaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1. Nine people were injured. Initially, Bengaluru Police and Central Crime Branch conducted the investigation, then on March 3, the NIA took over the case.

Meanwhile, the dispute between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress over the arrest of the accused from Bengal is still going on. "We should leave it to the investigating agencies at this point and BJP should not create such controversies," Parameshwara said.

"In such cases where the internal security of the country is in question, we must all work together. We cannot fight like cats and dogs, we must fight together", he added.