NIA, NSG assist Bengaluru cops in blast probe

The last time the city was rocked by an explosion of this kind was in December 2014 when a low-intensity IED placed inside a flowerpot on the pavement outside the Coconut Grove restaurant on Church Street exploded around 8.30 pm on December 28, killing one woman and injuring at least four people. The police arrested two men allegedly owing allegiance to Indian Mujahideen for the blast. There have been several minor and significant blasts across the country, outside the three theatres of Jammu and Kashmir, Left Wing Extremism-hit areas and the Northeast, in the last 10 years.

n On October 2, 2014, an explosion occurred in a house in Khagragarh of Burdwan in West Bengal. Two suspected terrorists were killed and a third injured. The police seized 55 IEDs, RDX, wristwatch dials and SIM cards. In August 2019, NIA convicted 19 people, including 4 Bangladeshi citizens and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh  members.

n On July 27, 2015, three gunmen dressed in Army uniforms opened fire on a bus and attacked Dina Nagar police station in Gurdaspur of Punjab, killing three civilians and four policemen; 15 were injured. Five bombs were found planted on the Amritsar–Pathankot line on a rail-bridge near Parmanand station, 5 km from the site of the attack. All three attackers were killed in the operation, which lasted almost 12 hours.

#Karnataka #BengaluruBlast #RameshwaramCafe #RameshwaramCafeBlast #Bengaluru

A total of nine persons were injured in the incident but one woman sustained serious injuries. The police are now looking for the man who left behind the bag in the restaurant. pic.twitter.com/Qq0A0Jeo92

— Express Bengaluru (@IEBengaluru) March 1, 2024

n On March 7, 2017 a suitcase bomb exploded in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train, injuring 10 passengers. The attack was alleged to have been carried out by self-appointed Islamic State operatives. One of the suspects was killed in an encounter in Lucknow. Six persons were arrested. An NIA probe stated the IS-inspired module had also conspired to bomb a rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

n On January 29, 2021, an explosion took place near the Israeli Embassy in Delhi. Though the blast did not cause any casualties, investigators found the bomb to be packed with military-grade explosive PETN, a “Hi-Watt” 9 volt battery “for transistor radios” and ball bearings. The IED, packed in a can, was dropped in a flowerpot across the road from the embassy. The explosion took place around 5.05 pm, damaging a few vehicles.

n On June 17, 2021, a parcel exploded on a platform at Darbhanga railway station in Bihar. The parcel had been booked at Secunderabad and came to Darbhanga on Secunderabad-Darbhanga Express. No one was injured. The NIA arrested two persons in the case and accused the LeT of having engineered the blast.

n On December 23, 2021, a bomb exploded in Ludhiana court complex, killing one person and leaving six others injured. The case was taken over by the NIA, which said the IED was smuggled across the border via a drone. The attack was suspected to have been carried out by Khalistani separatists.

n On May 10, 2022, a Rocket-Propelled Grenade was fired at the Punjab Police’s Intelligence headquarters in Mohali, triggering a blast. While no one was injured, Khalistani operatives were found to be behind the attack.

#Karnataka #Bengaluru #RameshwaramCafe #BengaluruBlast #RameshwaramCafeBlast

Divya Raghavendra Rao, founder and managing director of Rameshwaram Cafe says we have given access to all our CCTV cameras to the police. pic.twitter.com/Vn4l7HZ972

— Express Bengaluru (@IEBengaluru) March 1, 2024

n On October 23, 2022, a bomb blast occurred in front of a temple at Eswaran Kovil Street in Ukkadam near Coimbatore from a vehicle-borne IED driven by one Jamesha Mubeen, who was killed in the blast. A statement issued by the NIA said Mubeen was inspired by the IS ideology.

n On April 2, 2023, at 9.30 pm, an unidentified man boarded the Alappuzha-Kannur Express without a reserved ticket and set fire to coach number D1 using inflammable liquid. Three passengers, including a child, were killed, while 10 others were injured. One Shahrukh Saifi was arrested for the attack.

n On October 29, 2023, a series of IED blasts rocked a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kalamassery, a suburb in Kochi. Five women, two men and a child were killed and more than 50 people were injured in the blasts. A man, identified as Dominic Martin, shortly surrendered at Kodakara police station, claiming to be responsible for the blasts.