NEW DELHI: The anti-terror federal probe agency NIA has on Tuesday conducted raids at 11 locations across four states in the country in connection with its probe into a case linked to the Rameshwaram cafe blast in Bengaluru, officials said.
They said that the searches were conducted with an aim to uncover the entire conspiracy behind the blast and also to identify the other conspirators involved in helping and supporting the accused from abroad.
“In a coordinated action, NIA teams searched 11 locations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. Extensive searches were conducted at the premises linked with 11 suspects in the case, in which an IED explosion at the café on ITPL Road, Brookefield in Bengaluru, Karnataka had left several customers and staff members injured,” a senior agency official said, adding that the attack, which took place on 1st March 2024, had also caused massive damage to property.
“The 11 suspects whose premises were searched today include individuals convicted in the 2012 LeT Conspiracy case of Bengaluru and Hubli Districts. The targeted searches led to the seizure of various digital devices and documents, which the NIA is examining exhaustively,” the official said.
It is to be noted here that the NIA took over the case from Karnataka Police on March 3, 2024, and arrested two accused - Mussavir Hussain Shazib and Abdul Matheen Taha - from their hideout in Kolkata (West Bengal) on April 12, after a nationwide hunt.
According to the official, the accused, both residents of Thirthahalli, Shivamogga district of Karnataka, were identified as the perpetrator and the mastermind of the attack. He added that further probe in the case is ongoing.