The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress today traded barbs as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two key accused, including the mastermind in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, from West Bengal.
Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa and Mussavir Hussain Shazib were arrested from a hotel in New Digha, a seaside resort town 185 km from Kolkata, where they were hiding under false identities, the officials said. It also emerged that the duo had been staying in at least five different hotels in Kolkata since March 12 and had used multiple false identity documents to book their stay.
NIA sources said that Taahaa was the mastermind behind the planning and execution of the blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe located on ITPL Road, Brookefield, Bengaluru, on March 1. Shazib had placed the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the cafe, they said. Several customers and cafe staff members were injured, some of them grievously, in the blast that caused extensive damage to the property.
The NIA took over the probe on March 3 and had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to the arrest of each of the two accused.
Following the arrests, BJP IT cell head and co-in-charge of West Bengal, Amit Malviya hit out at the Trinamool Congress and alleged that the party had turned West Bengal into a “safe haven for terrorists”. “NIA detains two chief suspects in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast, bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazib and accomplice Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, from Kolkata. Both likely belong to ISIS cell in Shivamogga, Karnataka. West Bengal, unfortunately, under Mamata Banerjee, has become a safe haven for terrorists,” Malviya said in a post on X.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the accused were arrested due to the “State police’s prompt action within two hours”. “Is Delhi safe? Is Uttar Pradesh safe? Is Bihar safe? Is Gujarat safe? The BJP cannot stomach the fact that people live here in peace,” Mamata Banerjee said at an election rally in Dinhata in Cooch Behar. Banerjee pointed out: “The men who were arrested are not residents of Bengal… They were hiding here. They were arrested in two hours.” “The BJP cannot stand it if there is peace in Bengal,” the Trinamool supremo added.
The NIA said that “this pursuit was supported by coordinated action and cooperation among the NIA, central intelligence agencies and the State police agencies of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala”.
Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh also hit back at the BJP’s attacks, pointing out: “The National Investigation Agency press release itself mentions cooperation of State police in arrests they made,” he asserted.
Ghosh said the police in Bengal remain “steadfast in suppressing anti-national forces” and are always ready to cooperate with other agencies. He referred to reports that the NIA had questioned a BJP worker in connection with the March 1 blast at the popular Rameshwaram Café.
“Well done @WBPolice in connection with the Bengaluru-cafe blast arrest. Even @NIA_India has acknowledged it in their statements. Any anti-forces should be strictly dealt with. But let me ask to @BJP4India and their minions – where are these arrests made from? KANTHI. We all know which family and BJP’s main leader runs illegal activities from Contai,” Ghosh said in a post on X without naming anyone.
Kanthi or Contai is considered to be the stronghold of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and his family.
Ghosh requested the State agencies to investigate the “family’s alleged role in the incident”.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale tweeted, blaming Suvendu Adhikari, without naming him. “Incidentally, where in West Bengal were the 2 terror suspects arrested (in a joint WB Police-NIA operation) from? From Kanthi (Contai). Why isn’t BJP telling us which leader’s “stronghold” is Kanthi & who is the sitting MP from that seat? Very mysterious especially considering a BJP worker was also previously detained & questioned in this same case,” Gokhale wrote.
Suvendu Adhikari hit back. “Under Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal is now a free zone of international militants,” he asserted.
West Bengal Police also termed the BJP’s claims as false. “WEST BENGAL POLICE EXPOSES LIES OF BJP & THEIR CHEAP TROLLS. Falsehood at its worst! Contrary to the claims made by @amitmalviya, the fact is that two suspects in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case have been arrested from Purba Medinipur in a JOINT operation by the West Bengal Police and the Central Intelligence Agencies. The proactive role of WBP in the matter has been officially acknowledged by the Central Agencies,” West Bengal Police posted on X.
Medical tests of the blast accused were conducted before they were produced before the NIA bench at Bankshall court, which granted a transit remand for five days, the NIA’s lawyer said.