2024 Bangalore Cafe bombing

2024 Bangalore Cafe bombing
Security camera footage of Rameshwaram Cafe Bombing in Bengaluru, India. 1 March 2024
Location	Whitefield, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Coordinates	12.970736°N 77.712537°E / 12.970736; 77.712537
Date	1 March 2024 12:55 PM (UTC+05:30)
Target	Rameshwaram Cafe, Whitefield Branch
Attack type	Bombing
Weapons	Improvised explosive device
Deaths	0
Injured	8

On 1 March 2024, an improvised explosive device inside a bag exploded at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bangalore, India. At least 8 people were injured and taken to hospital, though none were in critical condition.

Bombing

The blast occurred at 12:55 PM (UTC+05:30) at the Rameshwaram Cafe's Whitefield branch. It was caused by a low-intensity IED.

Investigation

The Bengaluru City Police, armed with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a partial image of the suspected bomber’s face, launched a manhunt scouring footage from hundreds of CCTV cameras.  The Karnataka government handed over the investigation to the National Investigation Agency. The National Investigation Agency offered a ₹10 lakh (US$13,000) reward for information on the blast suspect. A photo of the suspect, wearing a mask, cap, and glasses, was released by the agency.

After the blast, Shazib took a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus to Goraguntepalya. From there, he took a state-run bus to Tumkur. The accused kept on changing buses and traveled to Kalaburagi via Ballari. He then reached Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. From Andhra Pradesh, Shazib reached Kolkata via Odisha.

On the other hand, Abdul Mateen Taha took a separate route and went to Kolkata via Tamil Nadu. The duo were in touch with each other and finally met in Kolkata. Both of them were planning to leave Kolkata when NIA officials arrested them.

The agency had said that Shazib was using the name 'Mohammed Juned Sayed' to conceal his identity. Taha was using Hindu identity documents and a forged Aadhar card with the name Vignesh.

The trail that began in Bengaluru crisscrossed through several cities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to end in West Bengal. On April 12, in a significant breakthrough, the NIA arrested Mussavir Hussain Shazib(Aged 30), the alleged bomber, and Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa (aged30), chief conspirator of the blast near Kolkata, West Bengal. The anti-terror agency said that Mussavir Hussain Shazib had placed the bomb at the cafe and Abdul Matheen Taha was the mastermind of the blast.

Hussain and Taha, residents of Tirthahalli, Shivamogga, are accused in multiple terror cases and have been on the run from agencies since 2020.

TIMELINE

• At least 10 people were injured after an IED blast at the famous cafe located in Bengaluru's Brookefield area.
• The main accused was captured in CCTV footage on March 1 wearing a full-sleeve shirt, a cap, eyeglasses, and a face mask. He was seen walking towards the cafe with a bag, believed to be carrying the explosive.
• At the cafe, the accused ordered Rava Idli and was captured on a CCTV camera placed above a counter in the cafe. However, he did not eat the food and left the cafe. The explosive went off minutes later.
• In subsequent CCTV footage, he was seen changing his clothes and appearance multiple times after the explosion.

The early investigation and forensic analysis of the IED used for the blast suggests that an ISIS module from the state’s Shivamogga region, which came on the radar of security agencies as far back as 2020, could have been involved.