New Delhi: Unable to trace the man suspected to be behind the blast at a popular Bengaluru cafe last week, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Wednesday announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for information on him.
In a public post on microblogging site X, the counterterrorism agency released a photo of the suspect which was captured in a CCTV camera and sought details from the public.
Some 10 people were injured at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Whitefield at the heart of Bengaluru last Friday when an improvised explosive device (IED) burst as the restaurant was buzzing with customers.
As part of the protocol after any blast, the NIA sent its team to inspect the site. It has now taken over the case from the city police.
ThePrint had earlier reported that the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) constituted eight teams to probe the explosion.
The state government has hinted there could be a possible link between the blast at the cafe and the pressure cooker explosion in Mangaluru last November. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that an analysis of the material used in the cafe blast established a link between the two cases. Therefore, officers who probed the Mangaluru blast have also been roped in.
That blast was allegedly carried out by individuals associated with the Shivamogga IS terror module. Shivamogga resident Arafath Ali had executed the “identification, radicalisation and recruitment of gullible Muslim youth into the IS fold while working from abroad”, according to investigators. He allegedly did this from jail as he was arrested by the NIA in September on his return from Nairobi.
According to investigators, the probe found that accused Mohamed Shariq was on his way to plant a pressure cooker IED at Kadri Manjunatha Temple in Mangalore when the device accidentally exploded in the autorickshaw.
A senior NIA officer had said that Arafath had been in touch with the other accused in the case, and was actively involved in the planning and execution of the conspiracy.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: ‘Links between explosion at Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram cafe & 2023 Mangaluru blast,’ says Shivakumar