'Terrorists as Tourists': News18 Visits Kolkata Hotels Where Bengaluru Blast Accused Shazib and Taahaa Stayed Using Fake IDs

Bengaluru cafe blast accused Mussavir Hussain Shazib and Abdul Matheen Taahaa who were arrested in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district on April 12 spent more than 15 days in Kolkata hotels using fake identity documents, News18 has learnt.

The explosion took place on March 1 in the popular Rameshwaram Cafe during the busy lunch hour and left at least nine people injured. The case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency on March 3. Officials say Shazib planted the bomb while Taahaa is believed to be the mastermind. A court on Saturday gave the NIA ten-day custody of the two men after they were tracked down and caught in a hideout in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district.

The state’s opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is asking why West Bengal police were unaware of the two men staying in Kolkata for 15 days when lookout notices had already been issued for them.

News18 visited four hotels in Kolkata where the duo had stayed. Workers there said the men had claimed to be tourists.

The first hotel News18 went to in Ekbalpur was where Shazib and Taahaa checked in on March 21.

Workers said the photocopier there was down that day. The two men said they would themselves get copies of their ID cards made and give them to the hotel. But on the 22nd they left without paying or informing anyone.

Speaking to News18, hotel worker Zalilur Raheman said, “I am now scared and can’t even sleep at night. On March 21, they came here saying they were tourists. Our Xerox machine was not working. I told them to let me keep their cards. They said they would need them and that they would get copies made. The matter later slipped my mind. On the 22nd, they left without telling anyone. They did not pay. I am an old person but nothing like this has ever happened before. On the night of April 4, the police called us.”

News18 next went to a second hotel in the neighbourhood where Shazib and Taahaa stayed for three days. Asgar Hossain, a worker there, said, “They checked in here on March 25 and stayed in room number 203 for three days. They said that they were tourists. They gave ID cards and said one of them was from Maharashtra and the other from Karnataka. They left after three days. Then five days ago the police came along with NIA officers. We initially thought this was a cybercrime case. It came as a shock to us that they had committed such a serious offence.”

The hotel owner said NIA officers also stayed there for a few days for investigation.

News18 then went to a third hotel in the city where Shazib and Taahaa spent some time but the staff refused to interact.

At a fourth hotel in central Kolkata’s Esplanade area, the duo stayed on March 13. The workers here too told News18 that Shazib and Taahaa used fake IDs to check in.