The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday said the man who placed the IED at Rameshwaram cafe in Karnataka's Bengaluru has been arrested near West Bengal's Kolkata, adding that another man, the "mastermind", has also been nabbed.
The two accused have been identified as Adbul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazeb.
"The absconders in the Rameswaram Cafe blast case, Adbul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazeb were traced out to their hideout near Kolkata and were apprehended by the NIA team," the agency said.
"Mussavir Hussain Shazib is the accused who placed the IED at the Café and Abdul Matheen Taha is the mastermind behind the planning, execution of blast and subsequent evasion from the clutches of law," NIA said.
On early morning hours of April 12, NIA traced the absconding accused Abdul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazeb near Kolkata where they were hiding under false identities, the NIA said.
"NIA was supported by co-ordinated action and co-operation between Central Intelligence agencies and State Police agencies of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala police," the agency added.
On March 1, a blast rocked the Rameshwaram Cafe in Whitefield area of Karnataka's Bengaluru, leaving nine people injured. While initially the explosion was suspected to be a cylinder blast, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah later confirmed it to be a bomb blast.
Anti-terror agency NIA took over the case on March 3.
A footage from the day of the blast surfaced later, showing the prime suspect roaming inside a bus station. According to the probe team, the suspect changed his clothes after the incident and traveled by bus to different locations.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on March 6 announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for information about the suspected "bomber" in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case of Karnataka's Bengaluru.
