Ten people were injured in a low-intensity bomb blast at The Rameshwaram Cafe, a popular restaurant at Brookefield in Bengaluru’s Information Technology corridor on Friday afternoon. All the injured are said to be out of danger. 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 a ear-shattering explosion, followed by smoke engulfing the area. The quick-service eatery had over 200 patrons when the blast occurred, sources said.
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. 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 spot, said a man aged around 30 years came to the restaurant at around noon, and left the bag near the hand wash area. It exploded nearly an hour later. The police are now analysing CCTV footage to identify the accused. “There is no need to panic. Bengaluru is a safe city. Our police will crack the case soon,” he said. A senior official said that it was a low-intensity blast. “Though the bag was packed with projectiles, the kind of injuries that victims suffered indicates that it was a low-intensity blast,” he said.
The BJP said the blast was a result of the “appeasement politics” practised by the Congress government in the State, even as senior police officials said that there were no leads so far on any group being responsible for the blast. The Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister said the incident was being thoroughly probed and should not be politicised. Ruling out earlier speculation of a fire accident, Divya Raghavendra, managing director and founder of The Rameshwaram Cafe, told The Hindu that staff members and customers had said that someone came and left a bag below the hand wash area.
Started in 2021, The Rameshwaram Cafe has four branches across the city and is known to be bustling with people. Of the 10 injured, Swarnamba Narayanappa, 49, an accountant at an IT firm, sustained nearly 40% burns and is being treated in an ICU at the Brookefield Hospital. The institute’s medical director, Pradeep Kumar, said Ms. Narayanappa was out of danger but would need plastic surgery. “She has suffered cut injuries on the right side of her body and her eardrum is damaged due to the loud explosion. There are no rip-off injuries, indicating it was a low-intensity explosion,” he said. Another woman, Nagashree, 35, suffered a corneal injury to her eye and was operated upon at the Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences in Whitefield. The remaining seven have mild injuries and are being treated at these two hospitals. Doctors said several of them have suffered damage to their eardrums.
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Published - March 02, 2024 11:23 am IST
