Suspect spoke on phone, BJP alleges ‘pro-Pakistan’ slogan link with Bengaluru blast

Rameshwaram Cafe blast: On Saturday, the Bengaluru police detained four people for questioning.

Bengaluru: Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said the police are also examining the "jealousy factor" angle in The Rameshwaram Cafe blast. The politician said the material and method used to carry out the explosion appeared to be similar to that of the 2022 Mangalore blast. The BJP, however, has alleged that there is a connection between the alleged pro-Pakistan slogan raised in the Karnataka assembly and the blast. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Bengaluru police detained four people for questioning.

Security personnel stand guard at the Rameshwaram cafe blast site, in Bengaluru. (PTI)

Here are the top updates of The Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru:

1. G Parameshwara said the authorities are investigating the case."We are continuing our investigation. 8 teams have been formed and all are working in different directions and looking at different aspects. We have collected several CCTV footage. We are examining every angle, including if there is any jealousy factor. I also appeal to the opposition to cooperate with us and not to make this a political issue...We do not know if there is any connection with the Mangaluru blast. They have used a similar material and the same system technically. Yesterday NSG arrived here. We will definitely find the person. We had a meeting yesterday and briefed the CM. Today, I have called a meeting of all the senior officers. The BJP should not issue negative statements," he told ANI.
2. The Bengaluru central crime branch on Saturday detained four people. They are not accused of carrying out the blast. However, per a police source, they may have helped the person who placed the bomb at the cafe. 10 people were injured in the blast.
3. Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayanand said on Saturday: “Some people have been detained, however, no arrests have been made so far. Multiple police teams are examining various angles based on the clues gathered at the scene.”
4. Those detained are not suspects but are being questioned about the main suspect, who allegedly carried out the blast.
5. The police have found the CCTV footage that shows the suspect entering the cafe. He ordered idli. He was talking to someone on his mobile phone while eating, an officer told Hindustan Times.
6. The police are trying to find the phone number of the suspect. They are also trying to find the link between the blast and the mobile phone that the suspect was using. There were 500 active numbers in use in the area at the time.
7. The bus in which the suspect allegedly travelled was going from Banashankari to ITPL. The suspect got on the Volvo bus number KA-57-F 186 near Kundalahalli and alighted at the CMRIT College stop.
8. Union minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar said that there's a connection between 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans raised two days ago and the explosion. "Pakistan Zindabad slogans were raised and then, after two days, an IED explosion rocked the Rameshwaram cafe in Bengaluru. There is a connection between these two," he said. He also accused the government of appeasement politics.
9. Reacting to the BJP's accusation, Karnataka deputy CM Shivakumar today said that the party is spoiling the honour of the state. "The police are investigating, the government has given free hand to them. The government has taken the issue seriously...It is a shame that the BJP has forgotten what happened during their time, I don't like to do politics on such an issue. Let them do whatever politics they are doing. They are spoiling the honour of the state. In such a context, we should be aware of the unity and peace of the people of this country," he said.
10. The Karnataka government has declared that it will bear the cost of treatment of all 10 injured people. "The government will bear the treatment charges of all the patients. Around ten people were injured. Three are here in the Brookfield Hospital and six others are admitted in Vydehi Hospital. I am also going there. The patients are recovering and responding very well to the treatment," CM Siddaramaiah told reporters.

With inputs from ANI