Bengaluru: The Rameshwaram Cafe blast case has taken a significant turn with the arrest of Musavir Hussain Shajeeb and Abdul Mateen Ahmed Taha, who are suspected to have ties with the terrorist organisation ISIS.
Sources within the investigating agency revealed that Taha and Musavir, hailing from Tirthahalli in Shimoga district, are believed to have been in contact with operatives of ISIS organisation.
During the arrest, the NIA recovered fake Aadhaar cards, Karnataka SIM cards from their possession. Among the recovered documents was a counterfeit Aadhaar card belonging to Anamool Kulkarni, a resident of Vardanagar, Kalaburagi. Currently employed in a Bangalore-based private company, Anamool Kulkarni’s involvement in this case has raised eyebrows, prompting an extensive investigation into how his Aadhaar card ended up in the hands of the accused.
For nearly two weeks, the suspects had been hiding in Midhinapur, Kolkata, frequently changing their accommodations. They adopted various aliases such as Sanjay Agaralwal, Uday Das, Yashu Patel, and Vighesh during their stay in different lodges, including Calcutta Hotel Paradise and Lenin Serani.
Mussavir Hussain was found in possession of an Aadhaar card from Palghar district in Maharashtra, along with fake Aadhaar cards of Vishnesh and Anamool Kulkarni from Karnataka. When interacting with hotel staff, the suspects identified themselves as Sanjay Agrawal and Uday Das, claiming to hail from Jharkhand and Tripura, respectively.
Abdul Mateen Taha, a notorious figure wanted by the NIA in connection with multiple cases since 2019, had been evading arrest for four years. The NIA had initially offered a reward of Rs 3 lakh for information leading to his capture, which was increased to Rs 5 lakh following the Mangalore cooker bomb blast and further raised to Rs 10 lakh after the Rameshwaram Cafe blast.
According to sources, a terror suspect Khawaja Mohinuddin was reportedly smuggling SIM cards from Tamil Nadu to Karnataka, acquired through fake documents, distributing them among his associates for communication purposes. The police were alerted to this activity and conducted raids, leading to multiple arrests.
Musavir and Taha, childhood friends, were on the run following an attack and were finally apprehended after the Rameshwaram Cafe blast. Their frequent travels to Kerala, Delhi, Nepal, and West Bengal have raised suspicions about their activities and connections.
Abdul Mateen was reportedly in contact with IS militants, and both he and Musavir are suspected to have been involved in various other blasts and incidents, including the Coimbatore car bomb blast, Mangalore cooker bomb blast, Shimoga trail bomb blast, and Mangalore wall writing case.
Financial investigations have revealed that Abdul Mateen received over Rs 80 lakh in cash over four years, allegedly funding their activities. There are suspicions that the funds may have originated from Pakistan and Dubai, which are currently under scrutiny.
Abdul Mateen’s background reveals that he is the son of a retired Indian Army soldier and an engineering graduate. He was reportedly inspired by extremist literature and videos. Taha had distanced himself from his family years ago and was not present even during his father’s funeral in 2023.
The investigation into their activities, connections, and funding sources is ongoing, with law enforcement agencies working diligently to uncover the extent of their network and prevent future acts of terrorism.
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