NIA arrests LeT terror conspiracy ex-convict in Rameshwaram Café blast case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday (May 24) arrested an ex-convict in a Lashkar-e-Taiba terror conspiracy case as the fifth accused in The Rameshwaram Cafe blast case.

Shoaib Ahmed Mirza alias Chhotu, 35, a resident of Hubballi city, who served a sentence in the case and was out of jail, has allegedly emerged as the key link to the Thirthahalli module that allegedly carried out the blast at The Rameshwaram Cafe on March 1, 2024. He allegedly introduced the module to an “online handler” suspected to be abroad.

“In 2018, Shoaib Ahmed Mirza had befriended and introduced accused Abdul Matheen Taha to an online handler suspected to be abroad. Mirza had further provided an e-mail ID for encrypted communication between the handler and Abdul Matheen Taha, who was arrested earlier on April 12 along with co-accused Mussavir Hussain Shazib, the alleged bomber at the cafe from Kolkata,” NIA said in a statement.