NIA: Bengaluru cafe bombers planned attack on BJP office on day of Ayodhya event, but failed | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet against four suspects in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe Explosion case and revealed how the ISIS-influenced conspirators had earlier planned other attacks, including a failed attack on the Karnataka BJP office in Malleshwaram on the day of the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony in Ayodhya.
Among those named in the indictment is Mussavir Hussain Shazib, who planted a bomb in the cafe on March 1. The explosion injured nine people and damaged the cafe.
Others charged on Monday include Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taaha, Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Muzammil Shareef. The suspects are now in custody.
NIA, which has launched an investigation Rameshwaram Cafe The case of the March 3 explosion was investigated. Various technical and field investigations were carried out in cooperation with various state police and other agencies.
Investigations revealed that Shazib, along with Taaha, was on the run since 2020 after the Al-Hind ISIS module exploded. Extensive searches by NIA had led to the arrest of suspects from their hideout in West Bengal, 42 days after the cafe blast.
Shazib and Taaha, both hailing from Shivamogga district in Karnataka, were indoctrinated and influenced by the violent ideology of ISIS and had earlier conspired to carry out ‘hijra’ (religious visit) to ISIS areas in Syria. They were actively involved in radicalizing other Muslim youths with ISIS propaganda, including two other accused, Ahmed and Shareef. Shazib and Taaha had used fraudulently obtained Indian SIM cards and opened Indian bank accounts under false names, using various Indian and Bangladeshi identity documents downloaded from the dark web.
Investigations further revealed that Taaha was introduced to his future handler Mohammed Shaheed Faisal, who is also a fugitive in the LeT Bengaluru conspiracy case, by an ex-convict, Shoaib Ahmed Mirza. Taaha then introduced Faisal to Mehaboob Pasha, an accused in the Al-Hind ISIS module case, and Khaja Mohideen, amir of ISIS South India, and later to Maaz Muneer Ahmed. Shazib and Taaha were funded by their handler through cryptocurrenciesNIA reported on Monday.
The funds were allegedly used by the accused to commit several violent acts in Bengaluru. These included a failed IED attack at the Karnataka BJP office on January 22, coinciding with the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, according to the NIA chargesheet. After failing to carry out the attack, Shazib and Taaha planned an explosion at the cafe in Rameshwaram.