SIMI’s role in Bengaluru blast being probed

Bengaluru,

Investigators are probing possible role of banned outfit SIMI in the terror attack outside a restaurant that left a woman dead and three others injured on Sunday. The NIA and police are exploring different angles.The government has announced measures to beef up security, particularly in crowded areas such as malls.“There is a possibility,” said Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, when asked whether the men — said to be members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India or SIMI — could have been involved in the blast in which one woman was killed.As investigators pieced together the available leads on the improvised explosive device (IED) triggered explosion, the National Investigation Agency began assisting the city police which sent out teams to Chennai and Pune where the bomb blasts had occurred in the past.Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reviewed security situation with state Home Minister KJ George and top police officials and announced further tightening of security, including installation of CCTVs in “vulnerable” places with dense movement of people such as malls, cinema halls and hotels.Briefing mediapersons, he said “all angles” were being looked into the blast, which was described as “terror attack” by the Centre.Bhavani (38), who was here from Chennai, was killed and her relative and two others injured when they were hit by shrapnels in the explosion of the IED hidden in a potted plant along the compound wall of the restaurant in the central business district that is teeming with people on weekends.“As you are aware, recently a few people belonging to SIMI had escaped from a jail in Madhya Pradesh and we have information that they had visited Karnataka, so police is looking at that angle also,” said Siddaramaiah.Siddaramaiah said the NIA and other central agencies were here and “we will keep constant contact with them and will seek all those assistance required, but investigation will be done by our police in coordination with them.”City Police Commissioner MN Reddi said: “CCTV footage that we have got is very limited…our teams are looking into it, I don’t have information on leads available from it. It may take some time.” On involvement of SIMI whose five members had escaped from Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa jail and reports of their visiting the state, Reddi said, “We are looking into it as well.”In Delhi, Rijiju said, “It was a terror attack.” Emerging from a high-level security review meeting, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the nature of the blast and the planter could be ascertained only after a probe. — PTI