Bengaluru cafe blast and ‘appeasement politics’

Nine people were injured in a low intensity bomb blast at The Rameshwaram Cafe, a popular restaurant in Brookefield in Bengaluru’s Information Technology corridor on Friday afternoon.

All the injured are said to be out of danger.

The BJP has alleged that the blast was a result of the “appeasement politics” practiced by the Congress government in the state, even as senior police officials said that there were no leads on any group being responsible for the blast as yet.

Police said the blast had been caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), which seemed to have been left at the restaurant by a customer.

The blast occurred during the busy lunch hour, shocking customers and others in the vicinity with an ear-shattering explosion, followed by smoke engulfing the area. Sources said that the quick-service eatery had over 200 patrons when the blast occurred.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed that an IED had been used in the blast.

Senior police officials said an explosive material, yet to be identified, was packed with nuts and bolts in a bag with a timer device, which has been recovered, sources said.

The bag was placed below a hand-washing sink, and the IED went off exactly at 12.55.32, as the CCTV footage shows.

The footage also shows another explosion five seconds later.

However, police said that a single IED had been planted there.

Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, who visited the crime scene, said that a man aged around 30 years came to the restaurant at around 12 noon, took a token, ate a rava idli, and then left the bag with the explosives near the hand wash area. It exploded nearly an hour later. Police are now analyzing CCTV footage to identify the accused.

“There is no need to panic. Bengaluru is a safe city. Our police are on the job and will crack the case soon,” he assured.

A senior official said that it was a low-intensity blast. “Though the bag was packed with projectiles, the kind of injuries victims have suffered indicate that it was a low intensity blast,” he said.

This is the first IED explosion in the city in nearly a decade. The last such blast in the city, using an IED, occurred on Church Street, in the city’s central business district, on Dec. 28, 2014.

The CM and his Deputy have said that the incident is being thoroughly probed and should not be politicized.