Bengaluru cafe blast: NIA gets 3-day transit remand of suspects arrested in West Bengal

Bengaluru, April 12 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday got a three-day transit remand of the two individuals arrested earlier in the day on the outskirts of Kolkata in connection with the March 1 blast at a cafe in Bengaluru. 

The arrested individuals -- Abdul Mateen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazeb -- were on the run since the low-intensity explosion at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru.

Following the arrest, both were presented at a Special NIA Court in Kolkata that granted three days' transit remand to the agency.

Meanwhile, sources confirmed that the suspected bombers are being brought to Bengaluru.

Bringing to an end a month-long manhunt, the NIA had arrested the two absconding individuals, including the mastermind, in the Bengaluru cafe blast case after tracking them to their hideout near Kolkata.

Mussavir Hussain Shazib was identified by the NIA as the man who planted the IED at the cafe, while Abdul Mateen Taha was the mastermind behind the conspiracy, and had planned and executed the explosion, which left several customers and staff members at the cafe grievously injured.

It was Adbul Mateen who also worked on the escape plans and also managed to evade arrest all these weeks.

The duo, along with their co-accused Maaz Muneer Ahmed, were involved in terror cases earlier, the NIA said.

The NIA, which had taken over the case on March 3, had identified these two accused, along with Maaz Muneer Ahmad and Muzzamil Sheriff, as the persons who had played a pivotal role in the explosion, which took place on March 1.

Muzzamil Sheriff was involved in providing logistical support to the other two accused in carrying out the IED explosion, the NIA said.

On Friday, the agency finally traced the duo to Kolkata, after working in coordination with various other Central agencies and police departments of Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

On learning that the terrorists were staying in a lodge near Kolkata under assumed identities, the NIA requested the West Bengal Police for assistance, leading to a successful culmination of the search operations and arrest of both accused.