At least ten people were injured in a bomb blast at the popular Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the man who placed the bag containing the IED has been identified on CCTV.
A bomb blast occurred at Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe on Friday afternoon, injuring at least ten people.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed that the blast was caused by an IED and said a man placed a bag containing the device inside the cafe.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the accused has been identified on CCTV. According to him, the accused is around 28 to 30 years of age.
The accused took a coupon for Rava Idli at the cafe but went away without eating. He left his bag, which allegedly had the IED, said the Deputy Chief Minister.
Police told the Chief Minister that no more IED were found on the premises apart from the one in the bag, said sources.
Siddarmaiah said the man who placed the bag inside the cafe took a token from the cash counter. The cashier is being questioned, he added.
Asked whether it was a terrorist act, the Chief Minister said it is not known and investigations are on, reported news agency PTI.
“It was not a large-scale blast, it was an improvised explosive blast. Such things have happened earlier too, it should not happen. Let’s see what it is. In recent times, such blasts have not taken place other than the incident in Mangaluru during BJP rule. This is the first such incident during our government,” he added.
The injured included staff members and a customer. Their injuries are not critical, said the Chief Minister.
The names of nine people injured in the blast are Farooq, a 19-year-old hotel staff, an Amazon employee named Deepanshu (23), Swarnamba (49), Mohan (41), Nagashree (35), Momi (30), Balaram Krishnan (31), Navya (25) and Srinivas (67).
A case has been registered at the HAL Police Station in Bengaluru in connection with the blast under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive substances Act.
CCTV FOOTAGE OF BLAST
India Today has accessed CCTV footage from Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe showing the moment when the blast rocked its premises. Servers milled around the counter before the blast turned the camera screen white as plumes of smoke went up.
Visuals from the site taken after the blast showed people running away from the cafe. The impact of the blast also tore their clothes and several people were seen with injuries.
Teams of police, firefighters, forensics and a bomb disposal squad gathered at the site soon after the blast.