Dr.Thomas (Special Correspondent)
Duo Traced To Their Hideout In A Lodge Near Kolkata, NIA Gets 3-day Transit Remand
The National Investig
ation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested the two absconding terrorists,including the mastermind,in the Bengaluru cafe blast case after tracking them to their hideout near Kolkata in West Bengal,bringing to an end a month-long manhunt for the duo.
Adbul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazeb were on the run since the explosion rocked the IT city of Bengaluru.
The explosion had occurred in the café’s seating area near the plate washing area and the customer sitting area.
Mussavir Hussain Shazib was identified by NIA as the man who planted the IED at the café,while Abdul Matheen Taha was the mastermind behind the conspiracy,and had planned and executed the explosion,which left several customers and staff members at the café grievously injured.
It was Abdul Matheen who also worked on the escape plans and managed to evade arrest all these weeks for himself and his co-accused.
The duo,along with their co-accused Maaz Muneer Ahmed,were also involved in terror cases earlier.
The NIA Special Court,Kolkata,where the two accused were produced after arrest,has granted three days transit remand to the agency.
NIA,which had taken over the case on 3rd March 2024, had identified these two accused,along with Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Muzzamil Sherif,as the terrorists who had played a pivotal role in the explosion,which took place on 1st March 2024.
Muzzamil Sherif was involved in providing logistical support to the other accused in carrying out the IED explosion.
NIA,which had been conducting extensive investigations and searches in the case,had announced a reward and also reached out to the general public via social media for information on the absconding accused persons.
On Friday,the anti-terror agency finally traced the duo to Kolkata,working in coordination with various other Central sister agencies and state police departments of Karnataka,West Bengal,Tamil Nadu,UP,Delhi,AP and Telangana.
On finding out that the terrorists were staying in a lodge near Kolkata under assumed identities,the NIA requested the West Bengal police for securing the accused and the latter responded promptly,leading to a successful culmination of the search operation and apprehension of both terrorists.Further investigations are continuing in the case.
