Three days after interstate crackdown, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested another accused in the Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast case. This marks the fifth arrest in the March 1 case by the probe agency.
The latest arrested individual has been identified as Shoaib Ahmed Mirza (35) alias Chhotu, a resident of Hubbali city in Karnataka. He was previously convicted in a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror conspiracy case, the agency said in a statement.
The arrest comes three days after the probe agency conducted multiple raids across four states after questioning the already arrested accused Mussavir Hussain Shazib and Abdul Matheen Taha. Both are residents of Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district of Karnataka.
"Three days after a massive crackdown across four states in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, the NIA on Friday arrested one more accused, identified as an ex-convict in a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror conspiracy case," it said.
According to NIA investigations, Mirza got involved in this fresh conspiracy after being released from jail.
Mirza introduced Taahaa to foreign handler
The probe agency revealed that in 2018, Mirza befriended and introduced accused Abdul Matheen Taahaa to an online handler. The agency further said that the handler is suspected to be from abroad.
Mirza later provided an e-mail ID for encrypted communication between the handler and Abdul Matheen Taahaa. Notably, taha was arrested on April 12 from his hideout in Kolkata, West Bengal. Along with him, co-accused Mussavir Hussain Shazib was also arrested by the probe agency.
During the course of its investigation into the Rameshwaram Cafe blast, the NIA has conducted extensive searches at 29 locations across India.
The NIA statement stated that further investigations into the role of handler and the larger conspiracy behind the blast, which left several injured and caused extensive damage to property, are continuing.
(With PTI Inputs)
