Days after an IED blast rocked the Rameshwaram cafe in Bengaluru city in Karnataka, Congress leaders in the State have left no stone unturned in downplaying the seriousness of the issue.
The explosion took place on Friday (1st March) and injured at least 10 people. Soon after, leaders and Ministers of the ruling party in Karnataka were involved in the political blame game.
While speaking to the media on Saturday (2nd March), Karnataka Agriculture Minister N. Chaluvaraya Swamy insinuated that the BJP could be behind the IED blast.
He was heard saying, “BJP only sees Hindus and Muslims. BJP has had a hand in many incidents in the past. I am not saying that BJP is involved in the Rameswaram Cafe blast case. When similar incidents happened in the past, BJP was involved.”
Minister Sharanprakash Rudrappa Patil courted controversy after claimed that some ‘silly’ fringe elements were trying to destroy the peace in Karnataka.
State Home Minister G Parameshwara alleged possible ‘rivalry angle’ in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case. He claimed, “Elections are approaching. If any organisation is behind it, or if there are some other motives behind it to terrorise people to make Bengaluru look unsafe as many investors are coming here. Business rivalry angle is being probed.”
On Sunday (3rd March), he was heard talking about ways that could have made the IED explosion deadlier.
“It is very low intensity. Perhaps the explosives used were of low intensity and quantity might be less too. If the quantity was more then the impact might have been bigger. One angle is that the bolts and nails (splinters/shrapnels) exploded vertically for some reason. If they had exploded horizontally then it might have been more serious, fatal even. It would have caused more injuries,” informed G Parameshwara.
In the meantime, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar floated similar theories about possible ‘business rivalry’ and ‘jealousy’.
Chief Minister Siddaramiah on Sunday (3rd March) resorted to comparing blasts during the BJP era and squarely blamed central agencies such as National Investiagtion Agency (NIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Research & Analaysis Wing (R&AW).
While shielding the failure of State intelligence agencies and anti-terrorism squad, he claimed, “Nobody should do politics over the incident. Who was in power when a blast occurred in Mangaluru? Who was in power when there was a blast near the BJP office in Malleshwaram?”
“There were four such blasts during the BJP rule. Is it not failure of NIA, IB, RAW? Under whose control are these agencies?” Siddaramaiah continued.
Suspect spotted in CCTV footagee
Newly surfaced CCTV footage from Saturday (2nd March) showed the individual suspected of involvement in the Rameshwaran Cafe blast in Bengaluru.
In response, police have established multiple teams to track down the suspect. The man is around 30 years old. He came to the cafe with a bag at around 11:30 a.m. He ordered Rawa Idli at around 11:38 a.m. He was captured on a CCTV camera placed above a counter in the cafe.
Nevertheless, he did not eat the food and was seen near the wash basin area around 11:44 a.m. Approximately a minute later, he exited the cafe. The explosion occurred at approximately 12:56 p.m. Another CCTV footage revealed the individual approaching the restaurant while carrying a bag.
Police speculate that a makeshift improvised explosive device (IED) containing a timer, concealed within the bag, triggered the low-intensity blast.
A case regarding the explosion incident has been filed under the rigorous Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosives Substances Act. On Saturday, personnel from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and National Security Guard (NSG) arrived at the scene to assist local law enforcement in their inquiry.
