Karnataka, India, March 6 (HBTV): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday announced a INR 10 lakh cash reward for any information on the man who planted the low-intensity IED at the Rameshwaram cafe leading to a blast on March 1. The blast injured at least 10 people who were there in the cafe.          

The NIA released a sketch of the accused in a 'wanted' poster and said the identity of the informer will be kept secret. No arrest has been made yet in the case so far while manhunt is on by both the central crime branch and the NIA.               

The NIA began its probe on Tuesday after the Union Home ministry directed it to take up the investigation as the Karnataka government did not hand over the probe to the central agency.      

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said the city police found vital clues and was close to cracking the case. Following the blast, which sent shockwaves to the city, the cafe was closed and will only reopen on March 8.  

On March 1 during lunch hour rush in the popular cafe, an explosion took place injuring 10 though the injuries were not serious. Piecing together CCTV footage, the sleuths found out that a man who came an hour before to the cafe and stayed inside the cafe only for a few minutes left behind a bag that had the IED with a timer. The man ordered a plate of a delicacy, ‘rava idli,’ but did not have it.               

Based on this footage, a grainy photo of the suspect went viral. The NIA’s 'wanted' notice on Wednesday confirmed that the man from the viral photo was being ‘zeroed in on as the suspect.’ The suspect is a tall man of a slim build and his age may be between 30 to 40 years.             

In the earlier photos obtained from the CCTV inside the cafe, he was seen with a mask but in the photo released by the NIA on Wednesday, his face was more revealed.