Popular eatery cafe, Rameshwaram cafe situated in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area witnessed a blast on Friday, March 1st. As per the report, 10 people are injured in the blast.
Incident at Rameshwaram Cafe
As per the report, a person wearing a cap and a mask to hide his identity was carrying a bag that allegedly had an IED in a tiffin box. The person entered the cafe, took a token for Rava idli from the counter but went away without eating and left the bag in the cafe.
The activities of the accused have been captured on the CCTV camera, which shows he is around 28-30 years of age.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed that the cafe was caused by a low-intensity improvised explosive device (IED).
People Injured in the Blast
A total of 10 people got injured in the explosion including staff members and customers. Fortunately, their injuries are not very critical said Chief Minister.
Nine people injured were 19-year-old cafe staff Farroq, Amazon employee Deepanshu (23), Mohan (41), Nagashree (35), Momi (30), Naviya (25), Balaram Krishnan (31), Srinivas (67) and an accountant Swaranamba Narayanappa (45) suffered primary burnt of low-intensity blast. She suffered on the right side of her upper body, underwent plastic surgery to treat burn injuries, and moved back to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Investigation
Teams of Police, forensics, firefighters, and bomb disposal squad gathered at the cafe soon after the explosion.
Following the incident, Shivankar Gunare, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) rushed to the spot, followed by Bangalore city police Commissioner B Dayanand. Director General of Police, Alok Mohan also came on the spot and confirmed the cause of the blast to be an IED. Mohan stated NIA and IB had been informed, bomb squad scanned the scene for further explosives and confirmed there were none. The forensic team also collected samples from the explosion.
According to the source, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) has taken up the investigation and formed 7-8 investigation teams. The team is also looking for similarities between the cafe blast and the Manguluru cooker blast of November 2022. 
The case has been registered at Hall Police station in Bangalore under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, and Explosive Substance Act.
Panic at ITPL Road
As soon as the news of the blast spread, traffic at ITPL Road came to a standstill. Panic spread in the air, and residents and security staff were bombarded with questions by TV crews.
About Rameshwaram Cafe and its Co-founder’s Statement
Rameshwaram cafe is set in 2022, named after the birthplace of APJ Abdul Kalam. It rose in popularity, footfall, and revenue in a short period and is known for its liberal use of clarified ghee. It is a popular hangout spot, also frequented by celebrities.
Co-founder and Managing Director of the cafe, Divya Raghuvendra Rao stated, “We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident at our Brookfield branch today. We are cooperating with authorities and officials in their investigation.” Further, she offered support, assistance, and prayers for those who suffered injuries in the incident.
Conflict between Congress and BJP
After the incident, a political row started between Congress and BJP.
Karnataka BJP President, B Y Vijayendra, criticized Siddharamaih’s government (Congress) on X, for its “callousness” and called the incident a failure of police intelligence.
CM Siddharamaih said that the investigation is going on and will strict action against the culprit and urged opposition parties to not play politics and suggested cooperating with the government in such a matter.
Not the First Blast
On December 28th, 2014, a similar low-intensity IED placed inside a flower pot, outside a restaurant at Church Street exploded, killing one woman and leaving four people injured.
In 2022, a blast occurred in Mangaluru in an auto rickshaw, when an accused named Mohamed Shariq was carrying a pressure cooker with an IED.
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