Bengaluru: The Karnataka police are tracking the suspect through the CCTV footage that they have managed to gather from a popular quick service eatery, where a low intensity bomb exploded Friday, injuring 10 people, officials said on Saturday.
Sources said images of the suspect's movement have been captured by the CCTV cameras at the Rameshwaram cafe in Brookefield area and those nearby. "We are positive about the leads we are getting in nabbing the culprit," an official said.
The official did not confirm the reports of picking up a person for questioning late on Friday night. "We are following all leads. We will share more details as we make progress," the official said.
The probe teams are employing scientific methods to verify the substances collected from the Friday (March 1, 2024) explosion and are trying to tally it with the November 2022 Mangaluru cooker blast.
CM to Review Progress
Sources said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has convened a meeting of senior Home Department officials later in the day in the wake of the blast. Officials are expected to share with him the entire progress they have made in the blast probe.
On Friday, Siddaramaiah said the 'incident' should not be politicised and everyone should cooperate. He assured that strict action would be taken against those involved.
On Opposition blaming it on the government, he said, "It's an improvised explosive (device) blast. Such things have happened earlier too, it shouldn't happen. In recent times, such blasts had not taken place other than the incident in Mangaluru(November 19, 2022) during BJP rule. This is the first such incident during our government."
CCB Probing, UAPA Invoked
Bengaluru's Central Crime Branch (CCB) has taken up the investigation, and there are about eight teams working the case now, sources said. The suspect, the source said, was carrying a bag, wearing a cap and mask to hide his identity.
A case has been registered at HAL police station under the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 and the Explosive Substances Act.
Ten people -- customers and staff members -- were injured in the low-intensity blast at the quick-service restaurant in east Bengaluru.
The injured are out of danger, according to officials.
IED With Timer
According to police, the blast was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) fitted with a timer in a bag left near the handwash area of the restaurant by a "customer". It exploded about an hour later.
"The bomb squad, canine squad, anti-sabotage teams and forensic analysts have visited the spot, for investigation and collection of samples," a police official said.
Also, sleuths from National Investigation Agency (NIA) and National Security Guard (NSG) reached the spot to help the local police in investigation and shared some inputs with them.
Founder Saddened
Divya Raghavendra Rao, Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Rameshwaram Cafe, released a statement stating that the group was saddened. "We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident at our Brookefield branch," she said.
"We are cooperating with the authorities and officials in their investigations. Our thoughts are with the injured and their families, and we are offering them all the support, assistance and care they need and pray for their speedy recovery," she added.
