Cap, Lodges & 42 Days: How Bengaluru Cafe Blast Accused Were Tracked | Exclusive from Intel Sources

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) tracked the pattern of Mussavir Hussain Shazib and Abdul Matheen Taahaa – the two accused arrested from West Bengal’s Digha in connection with the Rameshwaram Café blast in Bengaluru on Friday – for 42 days to achieve the breakthrough, according to top intel sources.

“It is a crucial development for intelligence agencies and the NIA. They followed a pattern for 42 days which the agencies were tracking,” said sources, adding the duo only stayed in guesthouses and private lodges where verification is not forced.

The first breakthrough came after the agencies found the cap. “It was purchased from a store in Chennai. They stayed in a lodge in Chennai and kept changing their location after the blast,” said sources.

“We kept track of all small tourist towns where lodges are not checked for identification. Finally, they were found in East Midnapore’s Digha. They will be produced in court on Friday,” they said.

The men are residents of Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district of Karnataka. Shazib had placed the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the cafe and Taahaa was the mastermind behind the planning and execution of the blast, the officials said.

On March 1, a man had 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 cafe reopened on March 15 with heightened security measures.

The NIA, which took over the probe on March 3, had offered a reward of Rs 10 lakh to find the suspect, whose image was captured on CCTV.

The NIA, central intelligence agencies and state police agencies of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala coordinated for the arrests, PTI reported.