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Bengaluru: In a major breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency on Tuesday arrested one person for questioning in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast case. The suspect, identified as Shabbir, belongs to Cowl Bazaar area in Ballari.
The probe agency suspects Shabbir of having knowledge about the blast and detained him from Bellary district in Karnataka on the basis of his recent travel history.
Last week the NIA and the Central Crime Branch apprehended a cloth merchant from Kaul Bazaar in Ballari and a PFI cadre in their joint investigation in the blast case.
The teams suspect that one of the two detainees, who was an active member of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), was part of the crime’s plot.
The investigating teams believed that he close association with some terrorist organisation. Sources said that the PFI cadre is believed to have brainwashed many people, including the man who planted the bomb.
The anti-terror agency, which took over the case on March 3, has sought the public’s help in identifying the prime suspect who is believed to have planted an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the popular Bengaluru eatery on March 1.
The main suspect, previously was seen travelling in a bus without a cap and mask and before that, he was seen wearing a baseball cap, which was later found by the central probe agency near a mosque.
Rameshwaram cafe resumed its operations on Friday last week, eight days after the blast which left ten persons injured. The popular eatery’s owner, Raghavendra Rao asserted people that strict security measures have been taken ahead of the opening.
On March 1, an unidentified assailant walked into the cafe and set down a bag carrying explosives nearby, which had a timer set for an hour. Ten people were injured in the blast at the popular eatery in the Brookefield area. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has offered a bounty of Rs 10 lakh to find the suspect, whose image has been captured on CCTV.
