Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday handed over Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast probe to National Investigation Agency (NIA), news agency ANI reported. The blast took place at the cafe on Friday in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area where as many as 10 people were injured. Till now, Central Crime Branch (CCB) was investigating the matter.
This comes a day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that the state government may consider handing over the Rameshwaram Cafe blast probe to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) if the need arises.
Earlier, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi along with other BJP leaders had demanded that the Rameshwaram Cafe blast probe to be given to NIA. On this, CM Siddaramaiah on Sunday stated: “We will see. The investigation has begun just now. No accused has been arrested yet. We will see if the need arises (for NIA investigation),” news agency PTI reported.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara earlier stated that they have obtained 40-50 CCTV video of the blast and will arrest the perpetrators soon. "Several teams have been formed. An in-depth investigation is going on and some traces have been found. Some information has been gathered from CCTV footage. There is information that he (suspect) had come by bus. So, 26 buses have been verified at Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)," he was quoted as saying by PTI in its report.
Meanwhile on Parameshwara's "jealousy factor" charges, owners of Rameshwaram Cafe refuted the claim of commercial competition.
Karnataka Home Minister stated that the investigative authorities are probing the cafe blast case from multiple angles, including commercial rivalry and attempts to terrorize the city ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The Minister convened a high-level meeting with top officials on Sunday to assess the investigation