He ate rava idli, left 'bag with IED': What suspect did before Bengaluru café blast

At least nine people were injured in an explosion at Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Café on Friday afternoon.

The blast was reportedly caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) at around 1 pm at the Whitefield branch of the café in the city’s Rajajinagar.

A day after the explosion, CCTV footage emerged showing a man planting a bag full of explosives within the café premises and leaving the place.

Here’s all we know about the man and the blast.

Identifying the suspect

As per the initial investigation, the alleged bomber is a male in his 25–30s. He had a cap on top of his head, spectacles, and a mask covering his face.

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The Times of India quoted a senior police officer, who examined the CCTV footage at the restaurant and nearby areas, as saying, “He is seen getting off a bus right near the restaurant and walking into it (wearing a mask). He pays at the cash counter and obtains a token for rava idli. After consuming the idli, he is seen leaving a bag near the dustbin and walking out.”

“The time he spent at the restaurant is around seven minutes.”

A timer was used to ignite the explosive nearly an hour after he left. Nuts and bolts have been found scattered at the restaurant, reported News18.

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Using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and face recognition software, investigating cops are identifying the individual who placed a bag containing a bomb inside the restaurant.

Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, according to TOI, said, “The suspect has been identified. His facial features have been captured by CCTV cameras and the same is being matching using facial recognition systems to track him.”

The Bengaluru police have detained and are questioning another person who was spotted with the suspect, as per NDTV.

Investigation underway

Investigators are looking into potential terror connections to the low-intensity explosion that occurred in the middle of the day and shocked the metropolitan city.

A highly advanced electronic timer device utilised in the explosion has been found by the city police, according to another report by News18.

The initial probe also indicates that high-grade explosives, such as RDX, were used in the explosion; however, the specific type of explosives used will only be revealed by a forensic test.

Additional evidence was gathered from the bomb scene last night by NSG teams and law enforcement.

Police have filed a first information report or FIR, under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosive Substances Act, 120B, 324, and 307.

According to Shivakumar, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) has been given charge of the investigation and is positive that it will be able to apprehend the culprit within a few days.

TOI quoted him as saying that eight teams had been assembled to find and apprehend the culprit, and that “they have already fanned out in different directions to track the accused.”

A team from the FSL, Bomb Disposal Squad, and Dog Squad investigated the explosion site at the café on Saturday morning.

The government has also emphasised that every angle is being looked at.

According to News18, a senior officer who spoke on condition of anonymity stated that the suspect was planning an impact because of the use of shrapnel and the placement of explosives.

The suspect might have selected Rameshwaram Café, he continued, due of its large traffic volume and Whitefield’s reputation as a centre for technology and information.

“We have yet to identify what type of module is involved in this case. We are using technology to get answers,” the official said.

The blast

At least nine people have been injured in the blast.

Dramatic footage of the restaurant roof partially collapsing can be seen in CCTV footage that has appeared online. In the footage, frightened customers run around wildly as dense smoke surrounds the scene.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) rushed immediately to the location to perform an extensive investigation. Both café employees and customers who were hurt are currently undergoing medical treatment.

According to TOI, when visiting a private hospital with Home Minister G Parameshwara, Shivakumar asserted, “The government will foot the bills of the injured.”

According to Parameshwara, the victims’ wounds were not potentially life-threatening.

The blast’s impact caused some of the victims to rupture their eardrums, the report said.

Late in the evening, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi and Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot went to Vydehi Hospital and Brookefield Multi-Specialty Hospital to meet the injured patients.

The owners of Rameshwaram café

Rameshwaran café co-founder Divya Raghavendra Rao told NDTV that the initial understanding following the blast was that it originated in the kitchen but only later came to know from the CCTV footage that it happened in the customer seating area near the cash counter.

“We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident at our Brookefield branch. We are cooperating with the authorities and officials in their investigations,” the cafe said in a statement.

“Our thoughts are with the injured and their families, and we are offering them all the support, assistance and care they need and praying for their speedy recovery,” she added, as per Hindustan Times.

With inputs from agencies