A fresh CCTV footage that emerged on Saturday shows the suspect in the Bengaluru Rameshwaran Cafe blast walking towards the restaurant with a bag, purportedly carrying.
The Intensive Explosive Device. Police have formed 7–8 teams to trace the accused, who is on the run after the blast on Friday that injured 10 people.
The low-intensity bomb blast at Bengaluru’s popular cafe on Friday, was carried out by triggering the IED bomb using a timer, police sources said as the probe under anti-terror law progresses.
Meanwhile, the National Security Guard (NSG) team reached the blast spot on Saturday morning to examine it.
RAMESHWARAM CAFE BLAST | LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Fresh CCTV footage has emerged, showing the suspect wearing a white cap and mask, carrying a shoulder bag, walking towards the cafe.
The police had identified the suspect from the CCTV footage yesterday. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar described him as a young man around 28 to 30 years old. He placed the bag near a tree (adjacent to the cafe) and left. After one hour, the blast took place.
The hotel’s floor manager had informed the police that he saw an individual leaving a suspicious bag around 11:30 am on Friday. Cops also recovered a timer and other parts of the IED from the blast spot in the Whitefield area. The forensic report to confirm the method of the blast is yet to come.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that the police have information that the suspect arrived at the spot in a BMTC bus. “We have constituted several teams. We have collected some evidence from CCTV footage. When the explosion took place, a BMTC bus moved on that way. We have information that he came on a bus. We will arrest the accused as soon as possible,” the minister said.
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) has taken up the investigation and case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Explosive Substances Act. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is also probing the incident along with Bengaluru Police. Seven to eight teams have been formed, and senior officials said that the key priority is to find the culprit at the earliest.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who confirmed it was a bomb blast, assured a proper investigation into the incident, which injured 10 people between 12:50 pm and 1 pm on Friday. He urged opposition parties not to play politics over it and everyone should cooperate.
The opposition BJP sought a detailed probe into the matter. BJP state president B Y Vijayendra demanded a detailed inquiry and said, “Callousness of the government in downplaying such crimes is pushing the state into this chaos & proving to be a safe haven for antisocial elements… Failure of police intelligence is also evident in this incident….”
The owners of the Rameshwaram Cafe issued a statement saying that they are cooperating with authorities and officials in their investigation and added that they are “deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident at our Brookefield branch”.
A CCTV video of the incident showed an explosion, leading to smoke and panic-stricken customers and others fleeing the place. While it was initially suspected that a gas leak could have triggered the blast, the Fire department later ruled out the possibility and said a bag was found at the spot.
The cafe which is located at Whitefield’s Brookfield area, a vibrant neighborhood, a business centre as well as a tech hub. It is usually crowded with employees from nearby offices during the lunch hours.