NIA arrests ex-terror convict in Bengaluru cafe blast case

Bengaluru, May 24 Three days after a massive crackdown was launched across four states in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested one more accused who is an ex-convict in a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror conspiracy case.

According to an official statement issued by the NIA, the arrested person has been identified as Shoaib Ahmed Mirza (35) alias Chhotu, a resident of Hubbali, Karnataka.

Mirza is the fifth accused to be arrested in connection with the low-intensity blast that rocked the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1, injuring at least 10 persons.

The NIA investigation has revealed that Mirza was convicted earlier in a LeT terror conspiracy case, and was released from jail later. In 2018, he befriended and introduced accused Abdul Matheen Taha to an online handler suspected to be living abroad.

Mirza also provided an e-mail ID for encrypted communication between the handler and Taha, who was arrested on April 12 from his hideout in Kolkata along with co-accused Mussavir Hussain Shazib.

The NIA has so far conducted extensive searches at 29 locations across India in connection with the case.

The suspected terrorists reportedly aimed to target techies and instill fear among software professionals in Bengaluru. They also believed that such an incident would harm India's global image.

The probe revealed that Mussavir Shazid visited the cafe in Bengaluru on March 1 and planted a low-intensity improvised explosive device (IED) on its premises.

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