Blast Mastermind, Bomber Held in Bengal: BJP-TMC Spar Over Arrest

Abdul Matheen Taha, the claimed architect of last month's Bengaluru café bombing, and Mussavir Hussain Shazib, the suspected bomber, were both taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency on Friday from a hotel in New Digha.

A senior member of the federal anti-terror agency stated, "Early on Friday morning, the two were traced to a hideout near (186km from) Calcutta and apprehended by the NIA team." "The defendants were disguising themselves as someone else."

The two had spent the previous night at a tiny hotel in Lenin Sarani, Calcutta, according to an NIA official, and had checked into the hotel three days ago.

On March 1, a low-intensity blast at Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Café resulted from a bomb that was left inside a bag and injured nine people.

A reward of Rs 10 lakh was offered for information on the two suspects, who are both from Thirthahalli in the Karnataka district of Shivamogga. The NIA is also looking into a few cases in Bengal.

The BJP ecosystem, led by chief of the party's IT cell Amit Malviya, accused the Mamata Banerjee administration of turning Bengal into a “safe haven for terrorists” after their detention.

The chief minister and her party emphasized the arrests made by Bengal police and the fact that the accused had been hiding in the backyard of state opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari.

"NIA detains bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazib and accomplice Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, from Kolkata, as two of the main suspects in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast," Malviya wrote on X.

"They both probably belong to the Shivamogga, Karnataka, ISIS cell." Unfortunately, under Mamata Banerjee's leadership, West Bengal has developed into a refuge for terrorists.

Mamata retaliated during a Cooch Behar polling rally. She questioned the state of law and order in states run by the BJP and attributed the arrests to the Bengal police, who had collaborated with the NIA on the operation.

"A bomb went off in Bangalore. Not from here, but from Karnataka, are the accused as well. Bengal was where they hid for two hours. Our cops here have apprehended them in the last two hours," she claimed.

They even have the gall to claim that Bengal is unsafe. Is law and order in the capital, Delhi, which is administered by the Center, safe? You live in Uttar Pradesh? You and Rajasthan? You in Gujarat? You from Bihar? She asked, "Are they safe?," referring to the states under NDA administration.

"The Bengali people lead peaceful lives. That is intolerable to the BJP. A despotic group that has gone beyond the pale of torture.

According to a press release from the NIA, Taha was the mastermind behind the bombing and created the escape plan, while Mussavir had placed the explosive device at the café. It claimed that both of them and Maaz Muneer Ahmed, the other accused, had participated in multiple previous acts of terror.

After being transported to Calcutta in the afternoon, the two were given a three-day transit remand by the Bankshall court, which will allow them to be sent to Bengaluru.

According to agency sources, Taha works as an IT engineer, while Mussavir is a member of the Shivamogga Islamic State module.

After the blast, they were said to have left Bengaluru and made their way to Bengal, where they continued to change their whereabouts. Before leaving, they had spent a night at a dilapidated hotel near Lenin Sarani, according to an NIA source.

According to agency sources, Taha obtained an Aadhaar card under the name Vignesh D and Mussavir obtained a driver's license under the name Mohammad Juner Sayed.

Although the saffron party used this as proof that it was now simple to obtain documents with false names in Bengal, it was unclear if the documents had come directly from the government.

Trinamul fielded Shashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh to explain the Bengal police had done their job and assisted the NIA, while state BJP head Sukanta Majumdar and Adhikari became involved in the barrage against the state government.

The chief minister, who doubles as the home minister for Bengal, appoints the state police, and they released a statement on X shortly afterward.

"The height of dishonesty! In contrast to what @amitmalviya has said, two suspects in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case have been apprehended from Purba Medinipur as part of a JOINT operation by the Central Intelligence Agencies and the West Bengal Police, according to the statement.

"The Central Agencies have formally acknowledged WBP's proactive engagement in the case. West Bengal has never served as a safe haven for terrorists, and the state police will never stop watching out for suspicious activity to protect the people living there.

In response, Malviya asked, "Who is the Chief Minister and Home Minister of West Bengal?" on X.

"Has Mamata Banerjee resigned or is she too incompetent to defend her dismal record on law and order?" he continued. She always hides behind @WBPolice when she is left with no answers, which is often.

Ghosh emphasized that the arrests had come from Adhikari's native territory, the Contai (also called Kanthi) district.

However, I would like to ask @BJP4India and their goons: where are the arrests coming from? On X, he scrawled, "KANTHI."

"Everyone is aware of the family and the chief BJP leader who oversee criminal operations out of Contai. I implore the State agencies to look into this situation and see whether there are any FAMILY ties to sheltering ANTI-FORCES.

According to NIA officials, Taha and Mussavir have been the focus of federal agencies' investigations since 2020 due to possible ties to the Islamic State. An NIA official stated, "Abdul Matheen (Taha) and Shazib (Mussavir) arrived in New Digha about three days ago and used false identities to check into a hotel."

The specifics of how the two had been located in the New Digha hotel room were unknown until late Friday night.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.