BENGALURU, India – Following the recent explosion at Rameshwaram Cafe in Whitefield on March 1, a sense of shock and urgency swept through the quiet town of Thirthahalli in Karnataka’s Malnad region. The suspects believed to be behind the bombing, Mussavir Hussain Shazeb and Abdul Matheen Taha, suddenly found themselves in the spotlight as police vehicles with blaring sirens filled the streets of Soppugudde.
Thirthahalli, a town known for occasional communal tensions, had previously caught the attention of authorities when NIA visited to investigate satellite phone users in 2018-19. It was during this time that Shazeb and Taha, childhood friends and former classmates, had left the town. By the end of 2019, Taha had been identified as a key figure in an Al Hind-Karnataka module, making him a prime suspect in the cafe blast.
The news of the arrests of Shazeb and Taha prompted their families to take precautions, locking their homes and relocating to undisclosed locations. Reports indicated that Taha’s father, Mansoor Ahmed, a retired military serviceman, was deeply troubled by his son’s alleged involvement in terrorism. Tragically, Ahmed had passed away from a cardiac arrest the year before, leaving behind a legacy of service to the country.
As for Shazeb, his upbringing in a family of farmers and traders in Koppa, Chikkamagaluru, took a drastic turn following his father’s death. His mother relocated the family to her father’s home in Thirthahalli, where Shazeb and his siblings took on various business ventures. Despite their differing paths, Shazeb pursued higher education in Shivamogga while Taha opted for an engineering degree in Whitefield, Bengaluru.
The pair’s intertwined past from childhood to adulthood shed light on the complexities of their relationship and individual choices. While Shazeb’s academic pursuits faltered, Taha’s educational journey led him down a different path, ultimately crossing with allegations of extremist activities. Despite the tragic turn of events, the town of Thirthahalli continues to grapple with the aftermath of the cafe explosion and the implications it holds for its residents.