The bomb blast at popular eatery Rameshwaram Café in Brookfield area, Bangalore, on March 1 is an alarming threat to civil society in general and security agencies in particular. Though the NIA is still finding ways to nab the culprit, the handlers are still facing a challenge that has yet to be cracked or neutralised. The nine members, injured due to the IED blast, are recovering and are under treatment. However, the blast and its repercussions are still in the minds of the people.
This kind of IED blast is no doubt a deliberate act executed precisely as per the plan. So far, the NIA has released a rough image of a person wearing a cap with backpack captured through CCTV to the public to share information regarding the suspect with a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh.
Rudresh Murder Case
NIA on Friday arrested a Popular Front of India (PFI) member who was the key conspirator and was absconding in the 2016 Karnataka case relating to the murder of RSS karyakarta R Rudresh. Ghouse Nayazi was arrested by an NIA team at the Mumbai International Airport on his arrival from Dar e Salaam, Tanzania. The team was lying in wait for him at the Airport after receiving credible inputs about the absconding accused.
Rudresh, a prominent RSS karyakarta of Shivajinagar, Bengaluru, was hacked to death by four members of the now banned PFI, on October 16, 2016. NIA investigations into the case had revealed that the murder was part of a larger conspiracy hatched by Ghouse, President of SDPI Hebbal Assembly Constituency, and one Asim Sheriff. The duo had motivated the other four accused to kill Rudresh with an intention to strike terror among the members of RSS and the society. The killers were persuaded to believe that the fight against the RSS was a ‘holy war’.
With Ghouse’s arrest, all the accused in the case have been arrested. The trial against the remaining accused persons is continuing in NIA Special Court, Bengaluru.
Mangaluru Blast
On November 19, 2022, Mohamed Shariq, one of the accused, was carrying the pressure cooker fitted with Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in an auto-rickshaw when it detonated, injuring himself in the process. The blast was intended for Kadri Manjunatha Temple to instill fear among the Hindu community but exploded prematurely.
The NIA, after taking over the investigation on November 23, 2022, arrested Mohamed Shariq and his associate Syed Shariq in July. The agency revealed that the two, along with an online handler, conspired to establish a Caliphate and implement Sharia Law. Mohamed Shariq assembled the pressure cooker IED, while Syed Yasin provided material support.
Shariq had previously been apprehended by state police in November 2020 for pro-terror activities and was also linked to the Shivamogga Islamic State Conspiracy Case of 2022. Alongside nine others, including Syed Yasin, Shariq was charged on June 30 for radicalizing and recruiting Muslim youth, fundraising, and conducting trial blasts to further IS’s anti-India agenda.
The Director General of Police (DGP) of Karnataka, Dr Alok Mohan, arrived at the scene of the explosion and assessed the situation. A team of forensic experts also reached the site, collected the evidence from the site of the explosion, and started an investigation. The blast damaged the verandah’s tarpaulin shelter, iron railings, and wall-mounted glasses, roof and various areas of the café.
Planting IED
According to reports, the suspect came to the restaurant on Friday by BMTC bus. He went to the food counter and ordered a Rava Idli, got a coupon, and headed to the eating room. He didn’t eat what he ordered, but he did leave his luggage bag containing the Improvised Explosive Device (IED near the dining area before leaving the cafe. After a gap of one hour, the blast occurs at 12.55 pm leaving around ten people severely injured. The police found a suspect in the CCTV footage, keeping a bag inside the cafe. The police probe so far has indicated that an IED device with a timer was used to carry out the explosion.
The Bengaluru Police registered a case under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosives Substances Act in connection with the explosion.
On March 3, the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case probe was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which re-registered the case and started an investigation. Several teams are working on various leads received thus far.
As soon as the blast went off around 12:55 PM, Congress leader Sharanprakash Rudrappa Patil reached out to the media over the Rameshwaram Cafe bomb and said, “Some people create such incidents to disturb the peace in the State. Our Government does not allow all these silly tricks. Our goal is the development of the State. We would not be disturbed by such a silly, small incident. This kind of act does not happen every day. A major incident took place in the heavily guarded Parliament. These are all fringe elements. It is a silly attempt.”
“At first, they tried the narrative of cylinder blast. Now, they are trying the narrative of business rivalry. Why can’t the Congress Govt allow the investigation agencies to do their job? Why preempt? Why prompt? Vote Bank compulsions? CM Siddaramaiah must give free hand to investigate and give clear answers to people of Bengaluru.” — Tejasvi Surya, MP, Bengaluru south
Reacting to this sharply, BJP’s Tejasvi Surya criticised Congress’ Sharanprakash Rudrappa Patil for dismissing the Rameshwaram Café bomb blast as a “silly trick” in Bengaluru. Surya denounced the remark as insensitive and disrespectful to the blast victims.
Not only this Congress, but people went on to mislead by saying the blast was due to cylinder leakage, but it emerged as an IED blast, confirming an act of terror. Though Congress tried to give another colour to this blast, saying this could be due to business rivalry. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK ShivaKumar even said this was a low-intensity bomb with a possible connection to the Mangaluru cooker blast.
When things were being speculated on about Rameshwaram, the Congress leaders, as usual, tried to mislead the public with stories like business rivalry and cylinder blasts. Once the DGP, NIA, and other security agencies reached the blast site, it became more clear that this was an act of terrorists and a deliberate act to terrorize the people or send some kind of indication to the government or security agencies.
The analysts and businessmen say this attack is aimed to terrorise the people and also raise doubts of safety and security of investments and dent the brand Bangalore which is known across the globe for its IT services.
Meanwhile, The Rameshwaram Cafe, in a statement said, “We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident at our Brookefield branch. We are cooperating with the authorities and officials in their investigations.”
Co-founder and managing director of the cafe, Divya Raghavendra Rao, said, “Our thoughts are with the injured and their families, and we are offering them all the support, assistance and care they need and praying for their speedy recovery.”
Since the Congress came into power in 2023, the anti-social elements, particularly Islamic radical elements, seem to be emboldened and openly challenging civil society at will. The issue of raising Pakistan slogans at Vidhana Soudha and Tipu rallies at various locations of the state is a few incidents that seem to be part of the strategy.
During the Congress led UPA period 2004-2014, the terror events were normalised and issues of blasts were interpreted as chota mota bomb blasts, an utter way of insulting the countrymen and security agencies. Even Congress attempted to show the Islamic terrorists as victims rather than aggressors. However, it seem that
In the last decade we have seen several acts of security agencies foiling such attempts like in Malegaon in Maharashtra. Given the sensitivity of the case and security considerations, the Bengaluru Police Commissioner has asked the media to refrain from conjecture and instead cooperate.
The Rameshwaram Café is a premium pure vegetarian was founded in 2021, with successful launch of two outlets in Bengaluru. The name ‘Rameshwaram’ was chosen by founders Raghavendra Rao and Mrs.Divya Raghavendra Rao to pay tribute to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam as it was his birthplace.
Rameshwaram Café Statement:
“We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident at our Brookefield branch today. We are cooperating with the authorities and officials in their investigations. Our thoughts are with the injured and their families, and we are offering them all the support, assistance and care they need and pray for their speedy recovery,” said the statement by Divya Raghavendra Rao.
On March 7 , the management of The Rameshwaram Cafe Brookfield announced that the café will be open to public from March 9, 6.30 am onwards.
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