In a major breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has made its first arrest in connection with the Rameshwaram cafe blast that injured nine people in Bengaluru from Ballari Cowl Bazar area on the early hours of Wednesday.
The person is identified as Shabeer Mohamad (32), was taken into custody from Bellary district in Karnataka. NIA officials are interrogating the suspect, sources said.
Shabeer is said to be working in a private firm in Toranagallu town, police sources said.
The NIA team suspected that the main accused was talking to Shabbir. As per the CCTV footage obtained by NIA, the suspected bomber spoke to him when he came back from Bengaluru on the day of the blast.
Police sources said, "The suspect and the arrested have had a conversation near the KSRTC central bus stand and later he used his mobile phone to contact other involved in the terrorist activity, who are located in other states.
The anti-terror federal probe agency which took over the probe, announced a bounty of ₹10 lakh for information about the bomber in connection with the blast at the cafe.
The agency also released a picture of the bomber, captured from the CCTV camera footage while keeping a bag in The Rameshwaram Cafe.
In the picture released by the NIA, the bomber is seen wearing a cap, black pants, and black shoes.
