KALABURAGI/BENGALURU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is tightening the net around the so-far unidentified prime suspect in the March 1 afternoon blast at Rameswaram Cafe’s Kundalahalli branch in Brookefield, Bengaluru. The probe has taken a 10-member NIA team to Kalaburagi where other two unidentified persons who were seen interacting with the blast suspect outside Ballari bus stand may have taken a particular bus to Kalaburagi.
The NIA is particularly focusing on Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) bus number KA 32 F 1885 of Kalaburagi Depot No 1. Sources said the NIA investigators got information that there were two unreserved seats on that bus, the occupants of which took the bus to Kalaburagi from Ballari, one getting off at Ram Mandir Circle and another got down in the Central Bus Stand in Kalaburagi late March 1 night.
Sources said the NIA team has reason to believe that the two persons who spoke with the prime suspect outside the Ballari bus stand are the ones who occupied the two unreserved seats on that bus to reach Kalaburagi. Another NIA team has collected CCTV footage from Kalaburagi Railway Station and verified the footage for more than two hours in the office of Inspector of Railway Protection Force situated near railway station on Saturday.
A senior KKRTC official, on the condition of anonymity, told TNSE that the NIA personnel have also collected the last eights days’ CCTV footage from Humnabad bus stand apart from those at Ballari and Kalaburagi, all three falling under the KKRTC jurisdiction. Apart from the CCTV footage, NIA has also collected details from ticket booking counters from Bengaluru to Kalaburagi as well as from Bellary to Kalaburagi and Humnabad, the official said.
NIA releases more images of blast suspect
Kalaburagi Police Commissioner R Chetan confirmed the arrival of the NIA team in Kalaburagi, but said the team had not shared anything about the inspection in Kalaburagi with the local police.
Meanwhile, NIA on Saturday afternoon released four more images of the suspect seeking citizen cooperation in identifying the cafe blast suspect.
The NIA has also given their mail ID for citizens with any information along with the two official phone numbers. These images are the closest images of the suspect which NIA managed to get through the CCTV footage. In these images, the suspect is not wearing a cap unlike the initial images released by them along with a cash reward of Rs 10 lakhs for the informant who correctly identifies the prime accused.
The images were captured in CCTVs at Ballari bus stand on the day of the blast. He is seen walking outside the bus stand. From there, he hired an auto and went into the town. On Friday, the NIA had released two video footage of the suspect while traveling in buses. Going by the images released on Saturday, it is evident that the suspect has changed his shirts that he wore. Backpack, black shoes and jeans pant however remain intact.
On March 6th afternoon, the NIA had released the first picture of the suspect on platform X. They had also announced a cash reward of 10 lakh rupees for information about the bomber.
NIA CONTACT DETAILS:
The contact details and the mail ID released by the NIA are: 080-29510900, +918904241100, Mail: info.blr.nia.gov.in.
The postal address is: SP, National Investigation Agency, 3rd floor, BSNL Telephone Exchange, 80 ft Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru-560008, Karnataka.