The Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe blast accused, arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) team on Friday, was given a three-day transit remand. The two prime accused--Mussavir Hussain Shazib and Adbul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa--in the blast case arrested from West Bengal will be transported to Bengaluru during the transit remand period.
A special public prosecutor representing NIA told ANI that the Special NIA court has granted a three-day transit remand to produce them before the NIA court in Bengaluru.
"There was a long seizure list containing laptops, mobile phones, sim cards and other digital devices in connection with the case. The rest of the investigation will be taking place from Bengaluru," he added.
Medical tests of the two accused nabbed by the team were conducted at a state-run hospital before they were produced in the special court. They were taken to Bankshall court for transit remand.
Purba Medinipur SP Soumyadip Bhattacharya said the duo was arrested in a joint operation by the NIA and West Bengal Police.
Mussavir Hussain Shazib was the one who placed the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the cafe and Adbul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa was the mastermind, the NIA said in a statement.
NIA identified the key suspects in the case recently and announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information on each of the absconders. According to NIA, both the accused hail from Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district of Karnataka.
A low-intensity blast occurred in Bengaluru’s famous eatery in Brookefield on March 1. As many as nine people, including seven customers, were injured in the blast. A woman who was sitting near the bag sustained grievous injuries.
Meanwhile, the arrest from West Bengal triggered a war of words between the BJP and the ruling TMC. BJP alleged that TMC has turned West Bengal into a "safe haven for terrorists".
"NIA detains two chief suspects in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast, bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazib and accomplice Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, from Kolkata. Both likely belong to an ISIS cell in Shivamogga, Karnataka. West Bengal, unfortunately, under Mamata Banerjee, has become a safe haven for terrorists," wrote BJP co-incharge of West Bengal Amit Malviya on X.
While addressing a rally in Cooch Behar, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the accused were arrested due to the prompt action of the West Bengal police.
"Heard one BJP leader saying that Bengal is not safe. The accused were arrested within two hours following a prompt response by police. What about the states where you are in power?" she said.
(With PTI inputs)
