No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings. The Bangalore Police Commissioner, Shankar Bidari, termed the blasts "an act of miscreants" trying to disturb peace in the city. The Union Home Ministry of India named the Pakistan-based
Lashkar-e-Toiba and
Students Islamic Movement of India, as the suspects. The Central
Government of India had warned the
Karnataka state government one day earlier that the state was high on the terror hitlist along with six other
Indian states –
Andhra Pradesh,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh,
Maharashtra,
Punjab, and
Assam – and Union Territory
Delhi. In response to these blasts security was also beefed up in
Andhra Pradesh. It was also reported that
sleeper cells have gained a firm foothold in Karnataka with the discovery of terror camps in the Karnataka forest early in the year. In this vein, near-simultaneous blasts – all having the footprint of the jehadi network that had carried out blasts in Varanasi, Jaipur, Mumbai and elsewhere – point to the strong foothold terrorists have made in the city. On 29 July, the Bangalore police
Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a SIMI activist named Sameer Sadiq in connection with the blasts. According to the police, Sadiq had played a key role in the
Surat riots. He was staying at Gurapanapalya in
Bangalore, the area which incidentally housed the SIMI office before it had been banned. On 30 July 2008, the
Intelligence Bureau (IB) indicated that two men – Rasool Khan Parti and Mohammad Sufiya Ahmed Patangiya – currently living at Farahan Arcade Gulistan in
Karachi were the masterminds behind the
Ahmedabad and the Bangalore serial blasts. They used to reside in
Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh. Both are possibly members of
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami. The
Gujarat Police has been looking for them in connection to the murder of former Gujarat state minister
Haren Pandya. On 5 February 2009, Karnataka Police arrested Muhammed Zakaria, then 19 years old, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He was accused of making timers for the blasts. Two witnesses have retracted their testimony alleging that the police made them witnesses and the case is fabricated. In March 2020, Zakariya's mother, Biyumma filed a
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court seeking to declare the
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), as unconstitutional. Advocate Hashir K Muhammed created a documentary about Zakariya in 2017 titled 'A Documentary about disappearance.' In December 2009, two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists including Lashkar's South India commander Thadiyantevide Nasir were arrested by the Indian Forces from the Bangladesh border. Interrogation of them lead to significant evidences to the serial blasts in several Indian cities in 2008 especially the Bangalore blasts. Nasir's arrest paved way for the arrest of several Muslim youth from Kerala involved in terrorism, as well as evidences for terror links of Kerala politician
Abdul Nasser Madani. Madani's wife
Soofiya Madani was arrested by Kerala Police on 19 December 2009 on the ground that she had taken an active role in Kalamassery Tamil Nadu state transportation corporation bus burning case. The remand report presented by police in the court said Soofiya had confessed to her role in the case and links with Laskhar-e-Toiba South India commander Tadiyantavide Nasir. However, Soofiya's counsel said the charges were false. Nasir was Madani's ‘'enemy'’ and had lied to police to implicate Soofiya, he claimed. But the prosecution pointed out that the Kerala high court while rejecting her anticipatory bail plea had said that the bus burning case was an act of terror.
T Nazir is involved in cases ranging from the attempted murder of former kerala chief minister [E K Nayanar] to the recent Bangalore bomb blast for which he is under the custody of Karnataka police. Bangalore police have already obtained ample proof that T Nazir and his associates like Abdul Sattar have good links with the Madani family. == See also ==