Bengaluru cafe blast was due to IED, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Talking to reporters at Hassan, the Chief Minister said that he has been informed that it is an improvised explosive device (IED) blast.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the blast that occurred at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru’s IT hub Whitefield on Friday was due to an improvised explosive device (IED).

At least nine persons were injured in the blast.

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Talking to reporters at Hassan, the Chief Minister said that he has been informed that it is an improvised explosive device (IED) blast.

“CCTV footage is being examined and police are carrying out an investigation. I have asked the Home Minister (Dr. G. Parameshwara) to visit the spot,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that the explosive was kept in a bag abandoned by the suspect.

“The police are gathering information from the cashier about the person, as he had got the token from the cashier, got the food, and later kept the bag near the hand wash.

“These incidents have taken place at all times. They should not happen. The state had not witnessed such an incident for a long time. The last incident was the Mangaluru cooker blast incident, it was also a small incident. This is the first incident after the Congress government came to power,” CM Siddaramaiah said.

He asserted that the culprits will be found and strict action will be taken against them, and there should not be any politics in these matters.

“We will initiate harsh action,” he stated.

State DGP Alok Mohan said that they had contacted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), and police and the FSL teams are conducting an investigation at the site.

The blast took place at around 1.15 p.m. when many people had gathered at the cafe, located in the Kundalahalli Gate area near Whitefield, as it was the lunch hour.