Chennai: The sleuths of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted raids at multiple locations in Chennai and Ramanathapuram districts in Tamil Nadu in connection with the Bengaluru blast case.
The searches are underway in Muthaialpet, Mannady, the north part of Chennai, and Keezhakkarai in Ramanathapuram since early this morning.
At least 10 people were injured in a low-intensity bomb blast at the popular Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluruās Whitefield locality on Friday, March 1.
Police suspect that an improvised explosive device (IED) fitted with a timer inside a bag could have exploded and have registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosive Substances Act.
On January 12 this year, National Investigation Agency charge-sheeted eight persons, including a life convict and two absconders, in the Bengaluru Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Prison radicalization and ‘fidayeen’ (suicide) attack conspiracy case.
Among the chargesheeted accused is T Naseer of Kerala’s Kannur district, who has been serving a life sentence in Central Prison in Bengaluru since 2013, while Junaid Ahmed, alias JD and Salman Khan are suspected to have fled abroad. The others have been identified as Syed Suhail Khan alias Suhail, Mohammed Umar alias Umar, Zahid Tabrez alias Zahid, Syed Mudassir Pasha and Mohammed Faisal Rabbani alias Sadath.
All eight accused persons have been charge-sheeted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosives Substances Act and the Arms Act. The case was originally registered by the Bengaluru City Police on July 18, 2023, following the seizure of arms, ammunition, hand grenades and walkie-talkies from the possession of seven of the accused persons.
The recovery was made while the seven men were gathered in the house of one of the accused. Investigations into the case, which was taken over by the NIA in October 2023, revealed that T. Naseer, who was involved in several blast cases, had come in contact with the other accused while they were all lodged in Bengaluru Prison in 2017. While Salam was in prison in a POCSO case, the others were involved in a murder case. Naseer had managed to get them all shifted to his barracks after a careful assessment of their potential with a view to radicalising and recruiting them into the LeT. He first managed to radicalise and recruit Junaid and Salman to further the activities of the LeT; thereafter, he conspired with Junaid to radicalise and recruit the other accused.