IED attack was to happen on BJP office on the day of Ram Mandir celebrations… NIA reveals in Bengaluru cafe blast

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet against four accused in the Rameswaram cafe blast case in Bengaluru. The central probe agency revealed how the ISIS-influenced conspirators had earlier planned other attacks, including one on the Karnataka BJP office in Malleswaram on the day of the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony in Ayodhya. However, the attack plan failed.

The NIA started the investigation on March 3

Those named in the chargesheet filed by the NIA include Musvir Hussain Shajib, who planted the bomb at the cafe on March 1. The blast injured nine people and damaged the cafe. Others named in the chargesheet on Monday include Abdul Mathin Ahmed Taha, Maaz Munir Ahmed and Muzammil Sharif. The accused are currently in judicial custody. The NIA had begun investigating the Rameswaram cafe blast case on March 3. The agency conducted several technical and field investigations in coordination with various state police forces and other agencies.

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Influenced by the violent ideology of ISIS

Investigation revealed that Shajib, along with Taha, was absconding since 2020 after the Al-Hind ISIS module was busted. The accused were arrested from their hideout in West Bengal 42 days after the cafe blast due to an extensive search conducted by the NIA. Both Shajib and Taha, hailing from Shivamogga district of Karnataka, were influenced by the violent ideology of ISIS. They had earlier conspired to undertake ‘hijra’ (religious pilgrimage) to ISIS areas in Syria.

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Muslim youth were being radicalised

They were actively involved in radicalising other Muslim youths through ISIS propaganda along with two other accused, Ahmed and Sharif. Shajib and Taha had used fraudulently obtained Indian SIM cards and opened Indian bank accounts in fake names using various Indian and Bangladeshi identity documents downloaded from the dark web.

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Funds were received through crypto currency

The investigation further found that Taha was introduced to his/her future handler Mohammed Shahid Faisal by a former convict Shoaib Ahmad Mirza, who is also absconding in the Lashkar-e-Taiba Bengaluru conspiracy case. Taha then introduced Faisal to Mehboob Pasha, an accused in the Al-Hind ISIS module case, and Khaja Mohideen, ameer of ISIS South India, and later to Maaz Munir Ahmed. Shajib and Taha were funded by their handler through crypto currency, the NIA said on Monday.

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IED blast was planned

The accused allegedly used this money to carry out various incidents of violence in Bengaluru. According to the NIA chargesheet, this included a failed IED attack on the Karnataka BJP office on January 22. This coincided with the Prana Pratishtha ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. After failing to carry out this attack, Shazib and Taha planned the blast at the Rameswaram cafe.