Bengaluru Cafe Blast Probe: NIA Raids Homes Linked To Indian Mujahideen Co-Founder's Son, Wanted For 12 Years

In its investigation into the bomb blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on 1 March, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches at the home of the son of a co-founder of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), who has been on the agency's wanted list for 12 years.

The searches were part of a broader series of actions across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, including in Mandya, Chikamagalur, and Bengaluru as per a report by The Indian Express.

The NIA primarily focused its searches on the residences of Musavir Hussain Shazib and Abdul Matheen Taha, considered prime suspects in the case, as well as their associate Sardar Naveed.

Shazib and Taha are alleged founding members of an Islamic State module originating in the Thirthahalli region of Shivamogga around 2016.

According to the NIA and other agencies, Shazib, a member of the Shivamogga IS module, is believed to have planted the explosive device at the cafe.

Both Shazib and Taha, an engineer from Shivamogga, are key suspects in the cafe blast based on CCTV footage analysis from various locations in Karnataka and Chennai.

Taha first came to the attention of authorities in January 2020 in connection with an IS radicalisation case in Bengaluru.

The searches also extended to the home of Abdul Rabiya, 26, son of Mohammed Iqbal alias Iqbal Shahbandari, in Bhatkal, Karnataka.

During the search in Bhatkal, the NIA reportedly seized a high-end mobile phone. Rabiya has been called for further questioning by the NIA in relation to the case.

Iqbal Shahbandari, also known as Iqbal Bhatkal, aged 56, is one of two brothers from Bhatkal considered to be the founding members of the Indian Mujahideen, a domestic terror group with links to the ISI, which carried out multiple bombings between 2006 and 2013.