Key conspirator in Rameshwaram cafe blast arrested by NIA after raids

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday made a major breakthrough in the Rameshwaram Café blast case when it apprehended Muzammil Shareef, a key conspirator, after conducting extensive raids at eighteen locations in three states.

According to an official release from the NIA on Thursday, Shareef was reportedly arrested in Bengaluru and detained as a co-conspirator following NIA teams' crackdowns at 18 locations, including 12 in Karnataka, 5 in Tamil Nadu, and 1 in Uttar Pradesh.

More than nine individuals, including staff members and customers, were injured when an improvised explosive device hidden in a handbag exploded in the busy Rameshwaram Café on ITPL road in Brookefield, Bengaluru, on March 1. There was additional property damage from the blast, the New Indian Express reported.

Mussavir Shazeeb Hussain was named as the primary accused, having carried out the blast, by the NIA, which assumed control of the case on March 3. Abdul Matheen Taha, a second conspirator, has also been identified and is being sought after by the organisation for more crimes. According to the agency, both people are currently at large.

According to NIA findings, Shareef helped the other two accused parties in the case with logistics. Raids were carried out on the homes of the three defendants, as well as on the homes and businesses of additional suspects. During the searches, cash and a number of digital devices were confiscated.

The primary counterterrorism organisation is making every attempt to capture the fugitive suspect and unearth the wider plot underlying the explosion.