Prime accused in Bangalore blast arrested by NIA

NIA said on Friday it has arrested one Mohd. Rafeeq alias Jaweed alias Alam Jeb Afridi of Ahmedabad, for his involvement in the Church Street Blast Case of Bangalore.

A bomb blast had occurred at about 2030 hours on  Dec 28, 2014 in front of Coconut Grove Bar & Restaurant at Church Street, Bangalore, causing a death of one civilian.

Alam Jeb Afridi, a SIMI cadre, is also an absconding accused in another NIA Case relating to the organization of a terrorist training Camp by Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) at Waghamon in Kerala.

He had been absconding for more than five years and a reward of Rs. 3 lakhs had been announced by NIA for any information leading to his arrest. He had been residing in the outskirts of Bangalore for nearly 3 years and was working as a mechanic for air conditioners. During custody, he has confessed to his involvement in the Church Street Blast Case of Bangalore.

He told NIA that he wanted to plant bomb inside the Coconut Grove Bar & Restaurant but was deterred by the presence of staff and therefore he planted it outside near the
wall. He had done so as per his handler who had informed him about the probable visit of an Israeli delegation to the said café for dinner that night. In preliminary examination, he had disclosed that his handler had taught him the technique of making the bomb for which he procured the material locally.

It is noteworthy that the kind of IED used in the blast is similar to the ones used in Gandhi Maidan blasts of Patna in October, 2013, Bangalore Guwahati Express Train blast in Chennai in May, 2014 and Roorkee blast of Dec, 2014.

 As per the available information, Afridi is also suspected to be involved in the Ahmedabad blast cases of 2008. He is considered to be a close associate of several
top SIMI leaders who are absconding.

He has also admitted his role in committing incident of arson at the Israeli Visa Centre in Bangalore. During search of his residence in Bangalore, the investigators recovered a lot of anti - semitic hate literature.

The forensic examination of the IED used in Bangalore had revealed the use of Ammonium nitrate, Sulphur and Potassium Chlorate in the explosive mixture used in preparation of IED, packed in a iron pipe.

He has also confessed his role in setting fire to Israeli Visa Centre in Bangalore in November, 2015.

Alam Jeb Afridi has been remanded to custody of NIA for ten days by court,
 
Meanwhile, media reports said three Indian sympathisers of ISIS, who were planning terror strikes in India and  other countries, have been deported to New Delhi from United Arab Emirates.

Adnan Hussain, Mohammad Farhan, Sheikh Azhar Al Islam were deported following which they were held by the NIA at the Delhi airport on Thursday.