The search for the suspect behind the blast at Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe has intensified as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) urges the public to assist in identifying him. In renewed efforts, they released additional video footage depicting the suspect adorned with a t-shirt, face mask, and carrying a bag, further showing him boarding a local Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus. The NIA is calling upon anyone with information to contact them directly via phone or email.
Investigators, poring over CCTV footage, discovered clues indicating that the suspect might have altered his clothes and took a bus to Tumakuru in Karnataka after planting the improvised explosive device (IED) at the cafe on the morning of the incident. Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara confirmed that based on substantial leads, officials are confident the suspect altered his attire post-event and used public transport to reach Tumakuru, expressing optimism about an imminent capture.
The investigative teams have also detained a cloth merchant from Kaul Bazaar in Ballari, suspecting involvement due to his ties to the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI). It has been revealed that the suspect managed to change his clothes and appearance multiple times to avoid detection, as seen in three different CCTV footages captured before and after the March 1st blast, which injured ten people. Finding the suspect remains a challenge for the police and multiple probe teams continue a widespread search, offering a Rs 10 lakh bounty for information leading to his arrest. The Rameshwaram Cafe, scene of the blast, has been reopened with enhanced security measures.