Bengaluru: In a significant development in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case that occurred in Bengaluru on Mar. 1, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two key suspects.

The arrested persons are Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, 30, the alleged chief conspirator and Mussavir Hussain Shazib, 30, the alleged bomber. They were apprehended in Kolkata this morning. NIA said the duo were traced to their hideout near Kolkata where they were staying under false identities.

The NIA, in a successful operation, traced the absconding accused hiding under false identities, with the cooperative efforts of Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana, and Karnataka Police teams.

“This pursuit, accomplished by NIA was ably supported by energetic coordinated action and co-operation between NIA, Central Intelligence Agencies and State Police agencies of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala,” the NIA said in a statement.

The arrests come days after the anti-terror agency in a bid to bolster its investigation into the case, widened its scope by delving into the social circles and past associations of the accused, including friends in school-time and college.

As part of its investigation process, the anti-terror agency had also intensified its efforts in the case by summoning and scrutinising some acquaintances, including college and school friends, of both absconding and arrested accused. NIA said that the individuals from various spheres of the suspects’ lives were being called in for questioning to gather crucial evidence and information pertinent to the case.

The move was part of the agency’s strategy to piece together the puzzle surrounding the alleged activities of the accused. With a focus on tracing the suspects’ connections and possible motives, the NIA said, it left no stone unturned in its pursuit of justice.

From Thirthahalli in Shivamogga

The two accused are residents of the Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district. Further, as part of the investigation one Muzammil Shareef, a resident of Kalasa in Chikkamagaluru, who extended logistics support to the main accused persons, was arrested on Mar. 26 and was examined in Police custody.

As part of efforts to locate and arrest the absconding accused persons, the NIA had conducted searches on 18 locations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

Earlier on Mar. 29, the NIA also declared rewards of Rs. 10 lakh on each of the two key absconders. According to sources, the officials earlier reportedly found out that Shazib and his associate Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa had stayed in lodges at Triplicane in Chennai for nearly a                                      month before he travelled to Bengaluru and detonated the bomb at the cafe.

The duo first came to the notice of the agencies in the Al Hind IS module case in 2020 in Bengaluru. Mehboob Pasha, who ran the Al Hind Trust in Suddaguntepalya in Bengaluru and Khaja Moideen of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, had put together an Islamic State-inspired terror module.

They were in the advanced stages of setting up camps in the forests of south India from where they wanted to launch an IS-style insurgency. Taahaa and Shazib evaded arrest and went underground.