NIA gets big success in Bengaluru Rameswaram cafe bomb blast case, Lashkar terrorist arrested

Three days after a massive crackdown across four states in the Rameswaram cafe blast case, the NIA on Friday arrested another accused. The accused has been identified as a former convict in the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror conspiracy case.

The NIA has achieved a major success in the bomb blast case that took place on March 1 at Rameswaram Cafe in Bengaluru. The NIA has arrested the fifth accused in the blast case. The accused has been identified as 35-year-old Shoaib Ahmed Mirza alias Chhotu. He was earlier convicted in the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) terror conspiracy case. After coming out of jail in 2018, he became a friend of Abdul Mathin Taha. Shoaib Ahmed introduced Abdul Mathin Taha to a suspicious online handler abroad. After that, he again got involved in another conspiracy.

A statement issued by the NIA said that three days after a massive crackdown in four states in the Rameswaram cafe blast case, the NIA on Friday arrested another accused. The accused has been identified as a former convict in the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror conspiracy case.

He had befriended the accused Taha in 2018

It said that in 2018 he befriended accused Abdul Mathin Taha and introduced him to an online handler, who was suspected to be abroad. Mirza also provided an e-mail ID for encrypted communication between the handler and Abdul Mathin Taha, who was arrested along with co-accused Musavir Hussain Shajib on April 12.

In a massive crackdown to nab the accused in the Rameswaram cafe blast, the NIA has carried out extensive searches at 29 locations across India. The latest arrests come two days after the NIA carried out raids in several states in connection with the case. The investigating agency, which took over the case on March 3, had arrested two key accused in the case, including mastermind Mathin Ahmed Taha, on April 12.

NIA raided several locations

The NIA also conducted raids in Hubli, Karnataka and took Shoheb and his brother into custody. The NIA officials who interrogated the two have now arrested Shoheb Mirza in connection with the case.

Shoaib Abdul Mirza, originally a software engineer, lived in Gausia Town in Hubli. The NIA team had earlier visited Hubli once in the Rameswaram Cafe blast case. Recently, they raided again and took Shoaib Abdul Mirza into custody.