2024 Bangalore Cafe bombing

On 1 March 2024, an improvised explosive device (IED) inside a bag exploded at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bangalore, India. At least 8 people were injured and taken to hospital, though none were in critical condition.

Bombing
The blast occurred at 12:55 PM (UTC+05:30) at the Rameshwaram Cafe's Whitefield branch. It was caused by a low-intensity IED.

Investigation
Initially, the Bengaluru Police registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances act. Even though a gas leak was suspected as the cause of the blast, the fire department ruled it out in the beginning itself. After checking CCTV visuals, Siddaramaiah, the chief minister of Karnataka confirmed that the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED). He also said that a man was seen placing a bag containing the IED in the cafe.

On 4 March 2024, National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a first information report (FIR) following a direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The NIA released a photo of the suspect wearing a cap, mask and eyeglasses and offered inr 1000000 as reward for information on the blast suspect. The suspect was later identified by NIA as Mussavir Hussain Shazib, who hails from Thirthahalli, Karnataka. His accomplice was identified as Abdul Mateen Taha, who also hails from Thirthahalli. Taha was also a part of Islamic State (ISIS) module in Shivamogga and was wanted for the murder of a Tamil Nadu police inspector named K. Wilson.

On 12 April 2024, the NIA arrested Shazib and Taha from their hideout in Kolkata. After the bombing, both of them had travelled through different routes and used different identities to escape from the law enforcement agency. Both of them were planning to leave Kolkata when NIA officials arrested them. NIA said that Shazib had placed the bomb at the cafe and Taha was the mastermind of the blast.

Timeline

 * At least 10 people were injured after an IED blast at the famous cafe located in Bengaluru's Brookefield area.
 * The main accused was captured in CCTV footage on March 1 wearing a full-sleeve shirt, a cap, eyeglasses, and a face mask. He was seen walking towards the cafe with a bag, believed to be carrying the explosive.
 * At the cafe, the accused ordered Rava Idli and was captured on a CCTV camera placed above a counter in the cafe. However, he did not eat the food and left the cafe. The explosive went off minutes later.
 * In subsequent CCTV footage, he was seen changing his clothes and appearance multiple times after the explosion.

The early investigation and forensic analysis of the IED used for the blast suggests that an ISIS module from the state’s Shivamogga region, which came on the radar of security agencies as far back as 2020, could have been involved.