Explosion At Bengaluru's Famous Rameshwaram Cafe; At Least 4 Injured (image-X/SriKanthY_)
Around four people have been injured after an explosion occurred at the popular Rameshwaram Cafe in Indiranagar Nagar in Bengaluru. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has confirmed that the blast was caused by a low-intensity improvised explosive device (IED).
The confirmation came hours after the blast occurred. The CM confirmed that the device was kept inside a small bag of an unidentified customer. He said, “We don’t know who he is. He went to the cashier and took a token for food. The bag blasted. We are questioning the cashier to get more details.” He also urged the media to refrain from politicising the incident as investigations are underway.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar assured the public that authorities are probing into the matter to ascertain the motive behind the blast, “Officials are investigating whether it was done by business rivals or if there was any other motive behind it,” as quoted in The News Minute.
According to the TNM report, an eye witness described a plume of black smoke followed by a loud sound. They further revealed that around 35 to 40 people were in the cafe at the time of the blast and that, “Around four to five customers were at the spot.”
According to a Deccan Herald report, the injured included a woman customer and three cleaning staff and the blast likely occurred between 1:30 pm and 2 pm. A senior official stated, “By the time our personnel reached, there was no fire. While the initial count of injured individuals was around four, recent reports suggest that at least nine people were injured. Reportedly, the individuals suffered from minor injuries and were immediately taken to the hospital.
“It appears to have happened in a frequency of 30 seconds. The initial suspicion was an LPG leak. It is being ascertained,” added the official. According to police officials, forensic teams have collected material and conducted tests to determine the exact cause of the blast to be an IED.
#WATCH | Karnataka | An explosion occurred at The Rameshwaram Cafe in Whitefield, Bengaluru. Injuries reported. Details awaited.
Whitefield Fire Station says, “We received a call that a cylinder blast occurred in the Rameshawaram cafe. We reached the spot and we are analysing… pic.twitter.com/uMLnMFoHIm
— ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2024
The founder and managing director of the cafe, Divya Raghavendra told Deccan Herald that two blasts had occurred within the span of ten seconds in the handwash area and that there were no LPG cylinders nearby. “I was informed that some unknown person kept a bag there and went. We are cooperating with the police in the probe,” she added.
BJP”s MP from Bangalore South constituency, Tejasvi Surya had wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) two hours before an official confirmation about the cause of the blast, that the blast had occurred because of a bag left behind by a customer. He also asserted the necessity for clarity surrounding the incident.
Just spoke to Rameshwaram Café founder Sri Nagaraj about the blast in his restaurant.
He informed me that the blast occurred because of a bag that was left by a customer and not any cylinder explosion. One of their employees is injured.
It’s seems to be a clear case of bomb…
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) March 1, 2024
According to an India Today TV report, a bomb squad was spotted at the site while the police are checking CCTV footage from a camera about 2 kilometres away from the cafe. While investigation are underway, the area has been sealed off for investigation.
