Fake identity documents, including Aadhaar cards and driving licenses with addresses from various states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, along with 35 SIM cards, assisted the Bengaluru cafe blast accused in evading investigators for over a month, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
On Friday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) apprehended Mussavir Hussain Shazib (30) and Adbul Matheen Taha (30), who were allegedly involved in the March 1 IED blast at Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe. The two were arrested in Digha, Purba Medinipur, approximately 180 kilometers from Kolkata, after spending around three weeks in West Bengal, frequently changing aliases and staying in low-budget, under-the-radar hotels.
Upon questioning, the men revealed that they had stayed in various locations in West Bengal, including Digha, Kolkata, Purulia, and Darjeeling. After being granted a three-day transit remand, the NIA plans to take them back to Bengaluru for further investigation.
During their stay in Kolkata, Shazib used a fake Aadhaar card under the name Yusha Shahnawaz Patel from Maharashtra’s Palghar, while Taha used fake names such as Vignesh B D from Karnataka and Anmol Kulkarni. At another hotel, they checked in under aliases Sanjay Agarwal and Uday Das, residents of Jharkhand and Tripura, respectively.
To avoid detection, the two frequently changed hotels and used only cash payments to avoid leaving a digital trail. Taha, an IT graduate, had used cryptocurrency to finance the operation, transferring it to Shareef to arrange logistics for the blast. Shareef, another accused arrested in connection with the case, had allegedly provided logistics like cell phones, fake SIM cards, and other materials used to plan and execute the blast, which left nine people injured.
The NIA has also recovered CCTV footage of the duo checking into hotels in Kolkata, where they spent time in areas such as Esplanade, Khidirpur, and Ekbalpur. Investigators are probing whether they had associates in West Bengal and why they chose the state to lay low.
