Blast suspects used around 35 SIM cards, multiple Aadhaars to evade arrest

The suspects used around 35 SIM cards and also used an unspecified number of fake Aadhaar cards at their hideouts in four different states before they sneaked into West Bengal.

Blast suspects used around 35 SIM cards, multiple Aadhaars to evade arrest: National Investigation Agency (NIA)

SNS | Kolkata | April 14, 2024 :  The arrested two terror suspects in the Bengaluru cafe blast case, who were apprehended from a Digha hotel by the NIA on Friday in cooperation with the state police, used multiple mobile numbers as NIA, sources said.

The suspects used around 35 SIM cards and also used an unspecified number of fake Aadhaar cards at their hideouts in four different states before they sneaked into West Bengal.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the recovery of unspecified number of Aadhaar cards from the duo had addresses from Karanataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Sources put it that those cards were made in Karnataka.

In Kolkata, claimed NIA sources, the two terror suspects had changed their hideouts at regular Intervals, eight times to be precise, to evade arrest.

Investigations revealed that the two Bengaluru cafe blast-accused also pitched in their hideouts at places like Egra, Contai, and Digha of East Midnapore. Similarly they visited Purulia, Darjeeling and Siliguri too to escape the police dragnet.

The accused fled after the blast at Rameswaram in Bengaluru on 1 March and as investigations revealed, chose West Bengal as safe passage.

The two accused, Abdul Matheen Taha and Musavir Hossain Sazeb, came down to the city on 12 March by train from Chennai, after shuttling between other states.

In the city, they had stayed in at least eight locations, four near Esplanade and four near Kidderpore, Watgunj.

On 28 March, the duo set out for Digha on a bus and finally the NIA sleuths, with active cooperation from the state police were able to nab them.