"NIA detains two chief suspects in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast, bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazib and accomplice Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, from Kolkata. Both likely belong to ISIS cell in Shivamogga, Karnataka. West Bengal, unfortunately, under Mamata Banerjee, has become a safe haven for terrorists," Amit Malviya, co-incharge of BJP in West Bengal, posted on X

Later in the day, a city court granted a three-day transit remand of the two accused to the NIA. The accused will be now taken to Bengaluru for further investigation

The arrests on Friday kept the state's political pot boiling ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, with the opposition BJP claiming that the TMC regime has turned the state into a safe haven for terrorists

The BJP's remark drew a riposte from the TMC and West Bengal Police, which pointed out that the NIA arrested the accused with the help of the state police

"If these terrorists were hiding here for the last few days, then it is quite evident that they have support cells working here. The state police were sleeping all these days, it is only after NIA provided the tipoff they acted," West Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said