Rameshwaram Cafe Bomb Blast: NIA to take over case

The investigation into the Rameshwaram cafe blast incident in Bengaluru, which rattled the IT capital on Friday, is set to be taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The low-intensity bomb blast at the Whitefield eatery was under scrutiny by the Bengaluru Police and Central Crime Branch, with no arrests made thus far. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has transferred the case to the NIA, and their officials are slated to handle the matter from Monday. Around 10 individuals sustained injuries, and they are presently receiving treatment at various private hospitals, with the Karnataka government assuring responsibility for their medical care.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visited the blast site, met the injured at the hospital, and presided over a high-level meeting with senior officials, instructing a fair investigation into the case.

The suspect, identified through CCTV footage as a 28 to 30-year-old individual, entered the cafe during lunch, purchased a coupon for Rava idli, and left without consuming the idli, leaving behind a bag containing an improvised explosive device (IED). Bengaluru police released snapshots from the CCTV footage, where the suspect’s face was concealed with a mask and cap.

Raghavendra Rao, the co-founder and CEO of Rameshwaram Cafe, urged both the Union and state governments to ensure preventive measures against such incidents in the future, emphasizing the need for strict action. He dismissed any possibility of business rivalry as a motive, stating that such harmful activities have no place within the business circle.

In contrast, the opposition criticized the Siddaramaiah-led government, alleging concealment of facts related to the bomb blast. Leader of Opposition R Ashoka accused the Congress government of withholding information about the culprits and attempting to manipulate the FSL report, drawing parallels with a previous incident involving slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ raised in Vidhana Soudha.