Bangalore Blast: Indian Mujahideen Links Found, 2 Suspects In Police Custody

Two suspects, who were involved in a blast in the Indian city of Bangalore in December that killed one woman and injured three others, were taken in police custody on Thursday, local media reports said. The city’s crime branch found that the Indian Mujahideen had links to the low-intensity blast that took place near a restaurant in an upscale neighborhood in the capital of the southern state of Karnataka, Times Now, a local news network reported.

The suspects' detention has been described as "a big Indian Mujahideen (IM) catch.” The men were arrested in the coastal town of Bhatkal, Karnataka. The two have been reportedly brought to Bangalore and are being questioned by local police, The Times of India reported, citing sources. They were reportedly arrested after police received a lead from the country's National Investigating Agency.

"Need time to comment more on suspects," the agency reportedly said.

Police reportedly carried out several raids in different areas of Bhatkal town. However, more details about the incident and the suspects were not revealed.

The explosion, which took place on Dec. 28, is believed to have been triggered using a timer attached to a crude Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

“We suspect the SIMI group (Students Islamic Movement of India) from Madhya Pradesh must have come to Karnataka,” Karnataka's Chief Minister S. Siddaramaiah reportedly said, at the time of the incident. “The police are investigating the blast and looking into this angle besides looking at the modus operandi of other explosion incidents that occurred in Bengaluru in 2008, 2010 and 2013.”

SIMI is believed to have close ties to the Indian Mujahideen, an Indian militant group linked to Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba, which had carried out attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008 that claimed at least 160 lives and injured 300 others.