Cannot conclude any specific terror outfit’s involvement in Rameshwaram Cafe blast: Home Minister Parameshwara

“The detonating system, the timer, and the batteries for the timer used in the IED at the Rameshwaram Cafe were all very similar to the ones used for the Mangaluru blast,” said Parameshwara.

“There were nuts and nails in the IED but it hit the roof when it exploded, thus saving many lives. If it had exploded sideways, the intensity would have been severe. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and National Security Guard (NSG) are assisting with the investigations, and they may have an idea of which organisation was behind the blast,” added Parameshwara.

The home minister said the police had checked more than 40 CCTV cameras, including those on 26 BMTC buses which took the route during the blast.

“There have been several rumours but I want to assert that whatever I or the chief minister or deputy chief minister of home department officials share will be official information,” he added.

Nine people were injured in the blast at Rameshwaram cafe in Brookefield in Whitefield. A man wearing a cap, glasses and a mask, who was seen at the cafe an hour before the blast at 12.56 pm, has emerged as the suspect in the case.

Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru in-charge minister D K Shivakumar had also pointed to similarities the Rameshwaram Cafe blast had with the Managaluru blast.

On November 19, 2022, a 24-year-old youth, Mohammed Shariq, suffered 40 per cent burn injuries after an almost similar IED he created went off accidentally in a bag he was carrying on his lap in an auto-rickshaw in Mangaluru. He was arrested after the accidental blast. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) later chargesheeted him and a co-accused Syed Yasin.