Bengaluru cafe blast: NIA detains Ballari native summoned for his ‘resemblance’ to the bomber

Also Read: Overwhelming support to Rameshwaram Cafe as it reopens after blast

Identity of the detained

According to Ballari police sources, Shabbir — an electrician in Ballari town — was in touch with the prime accused on the night of 1 March.

Police sources also said they stumbled upon links between the prison radicalisation case and the Rameshwaram cafe bomb blast case. The NIA sleuths are also in the process of questioning one person arrested in the prison radicalisation case.

The NIA will interrogate T Nazir, lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prisons, after suspecting his involvement in the cafe blast.

According to Ballari police sources, the NIA officials detained Shabbir from the Cowl Bazar in Ballari City around 3 am on Wednesday.

The detainee is employed as an electrician at a private industry in Ballari. He is also the son of a police constable working with the District Armed Reserve Police in Ballari.

Police sources said the constable passed away in 1990. Since then, the son “has worked as an electrician in a private company”. He has “no history of any past criminal cases”, they said.

Also Read: Bengaluru cafe blast: NIA, CCB detain cloth merchant from Ballari

Initially suspected resemblance

Police sources told South First that the NIA team initially suspected that Shabbir was the one who had planted the bomb as he had “some resemblance” to the man wearing a cap and carrying a backpack who had visited the Rameshwaram Cafe on 1 March.

The NIA sleuths, assisted by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) officials, conducted a series of Test Identification Parades with Shabbir to ascertain whether he was the one who planted the bomb.

The officers made him wear a cap, T-shirt and other outfits, including shoes and a backpack, similar to the costume of the suspect on the day of the blast.

The team continues its investigation by inquiring with locals and collecting technical data and evidence to confirm the suspect’s presence at the crime spot.

Also Read: NIA announces ₹10 lakh reward for tip on prime suspect

Link with prison radicalisation case

Meanwhile, another NIA team is probing the link between the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison radicalisation case and the Rameshwaram Cafe bomb blast case.

Nazir, who was lodged in the prison, had radicalised fellow prisoners and made them form several gangs to carry out subversive activities.

Investigating the blast, the NIA teams had prepared a list of these gang members and their modules, which, according to them, were operating at Tumkur, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Bidar, and Bhatkal. The NIA had also sent several teams to these districts to collect information on the gang members.

Meanwhile, CCB sources told South First that the bomber had travelled to Gokarna by bus on the night of 1 March. They also said he had taken buses to several other places in Karnataka to mislead the cops.

According to the CCB, he had planned to head to Pune, followed by Hyderabad. The NIA sleuths suspect that he is currently hiding in Hyderabad.

The central investigation agency had announced ₹10 lakh cash reward for any information that could help it arrest the bomber. It also released videos and pictures of the suspect obtained from CCTV cameras.

Earlier this week, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that the sleuths investigating the blast had “in a way” identified the suspect, and efforts were on to capture him.

He had said the investigators were verifying the suspect’s identity and were “getting closer to him”.

“Investigations are going on; we are closing in. In a way, the person (the suspect) has been identified. It has to be confirmed, and he has to be nabbed,” Parameshwara said.

(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)