Bengaluru, Karnataka, April 12 (HBTV): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested two persons accused of involvement in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, from near Kolkata in West Bengal. The blast at the Bengaluru cafe on March 1 had left nine people injured.

‘Adbul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazib were traced out to their hideout near Kolkata and were apprehended by NIA team. On early morning hours of April 12, NIA were successful in tracing the absconding accused near Kolkata where they were hiding under false identities,’ an NIA spokesperson said.

The previous month, the NIA released the photographs and details of Taha, 30, and Shazib besides announcing a reward of INR 10 lakh for each of them.            

‘Shazib is the accused who placed the Improvised Explosive Device and Taha is the mastermind behind the planning and execution of the blast and the subsequent evasion from the clutches of law,’ the spokesperson said.

Taha and Shazib were reportedly residents of Thirthahalli in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district. While Taha is an IT engineer, Shazib is suspected to be a key person influencing the Shivamogga Islamic State module.

(Inputs from various news agencies)