A day after an explosion at Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe, CCTV footage has emerged showing a man carrying a bag inside the cafe’s premises in the Whitefield area of the Karnataka capital. The suspect, according to the police, allegedly placed this bag in the cafe and then left before the blast took place. Another individual, who was seen along with the suspect, has been detained and is being questioned by the Bengaluru police.

The main suspect, his face hidden by a mask, glasses, and a cap on top of his head, was caught on cameras installed inside the cafe carrying a plate of idlis.

The blast, which took place between 12.50 pm and 1 pm on Friday, resulted in ten people sustaining injuries. The police have invoked stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act in response to the attack.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) swiftly arrived at the scene to conduct a thorough inquiry. The injured, comprising both cafe staff and patrons, are currently receiving medical treatment.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urged the public not to politicise the incident and called for cooperation in the ongoing investigation. The Chief Minister added that the blast might have been caused by an “improvised explosive” device.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who visited the blast site along with Home Minister G Parameshwara, provided crucial details about the sequence of events leading to the explosion. “The blast occurred at 1 pm. A young man of about 28-30 years came to the cafe, purchased Rava idli at the counter, placed the bag near a tree (adjacent to the cafe) and left. After one hour the blast took place,” Mr Shivakumar said.

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) has taken charge of the investigation, with multiple teams actively pursuing leads to identify the accused. State Police Chief Alok Mohan labeled the incident a “bomb blast” but assured the public that no one sustained serious injuries. 

Rameshwaram Cafe co-founder Divya Raghavendra Rao, speaking exclusively with NDTV, said that the initial understanding following the blast was that it originated in the kitchen. 

“But then we found out that there were no injuries or blood inside the kitchen and that the blast took place in the customer area,” Ms Rao told NDTV. “After looking at the CCTV footage, we saw that a guy wearing a mask and muffler came to the billing counter and ordered a rava idli. He then took his order and sat in the corner. He finished his meal and left a bag where he was sitting before exiting the restaurant.”

“We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident at our Brookefield branch today. We are cooperating with the authorities and officials in their investigations. Our thoughts are with the injured and their families, and we are offering them all the support, assistance and care they need and pray for their speedy recovery,” she added.

Forensic teams are currently examining the scene to gather evidence and determine the nature of the explosive device used. NSG commandos and bomb squads are still combing the area this morning. 

In a surprising turn of events, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Gautam Gambhir has announced his decision to step away from active politics. The former cricketer, who represented East Delhi, took to Twitter to share the news with his followers and supporters. He expressed his desire to focus on his cricket commitments, citing the need to redirect his attention to the sport he passionately played before entering politics.

“I have requested Hon’ble Party President JP Nadda ji to relieve me of my political duties so that I can focus on my upcoming cricket commitments. I sincerely thank Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi for giving me the opportunity to serve the people. Jai Hind,” Mr Gambhir wrote.

I have requested Hon’ble Party President @JPNadda ji to relieve me of my political duties so that I can focus on my upcoming cricket commitments. I sincerely thank Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji and Hon’ble HM @AmitShah ji for giving me the opportunity to serve the people. Jai Hind!

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) March 2, 2024

Gambhir, had joined the BJP in March 2019 and since then has become a prominent face of the party in Delhi. He contested and won the East Delhi seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by a substantial margin of 6,95,109 votes.

The decision to quit politics comes amid reports that Mr Gambhir may not get a ticket for the upcoming 2024 polls.

An obscure 21-year legal feud involving five brothers from India who have amassed a fortune in diamonds and Los Angeles real estate burst into public view this week with a multibillion-dollar US verdict that may be among the largest of the decade.

After a five-month trial, a jury ordered Haresh Jogani to pay his brothers Shashikant, Rajesh, Chetan and Shailesh Jogani more than $2.5 billion (over Rs 20,000 crore) in damages and to divide up shares of their Southern California property empire – about 17,000 apartments worth billions more. 

The trial, over allegations that Haresh breached a longstanding partnership with his siblings, continues with a punitive damages hearing Monday that could add to the award.

Jogani v. Jogani

The 2003 lawsuit already has been through 18 appeals, generations of attorneys and five judges in Los Angeles Superior Court. It’s drawing comparisons from some of the lawyers to the fictional Victorian-era probate case that Charles Dickens wrote about in his 1852 novel Bleak House. They’re calling Jogani v. Jogani the new Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, but with a twist.

“At end of the book, there was no money, hence the name, Bleak House,” said Peter Ross, an attorney who represents Chetan and Rajesh Jogani. “That’s not the case here. There’s billions here that remain to be distributed.”

Making the case more unusual is that most multibillion-dollar verdicts in the US are against giant corporations. How much each brother ultimately walks away with turns on the ups and downs of the real estate market, with apartment prices having fallen from their 2022 peak after higher interest rates raised borrowing costs and cut into property values. Apartment prices averaged $329,000 a unit in January in the Los Angeles area, down 26% from a November 2022 high, according to MSCI Real Assets.

Rick Richmond, the lawyer for defendant Haresh Jogani, declined to comment because the jury isn’t finished yet.

Diamond Trade

The Jogani family, natives of Gujarat, India, built a fortune in the global diamond trade, establishing outposts in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America. Shashikant “Shashi” Jogani moved at age 22 in 1969 to California, where he began a solo firm in the gem business and started to build a property portfolio, according to a complaint he filed in 2003. 

The properties suffered losses in the recession of the early 1990s, which worsened after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake killed 16 people in one of his buildings, leading Shashi to bring in his brothers as partners. The firm then embarked on a buying spree that eventually built the portfolio to roughly 17,000 apartment units with the brothers collaborating until Haresh “forcibly removed” his sibling from managing the firm and refused to pay him, according to Shashi Jogani’s complaint.   

Haresh Jogani contended that without a written agreement, his brothers couldn’t prove they had a partnership with him. But the jury found that Haresh had broken an oral contract.

Jurors heard testimony that oral agreements are customary in both the diamond trade and among Gujaratis.

‘Just as Valuable’

“The law is you can have oral contracts that are just as valuable as written contracts,” said Steve Friedman, an attorney for Shashi Jogani.

As the trial was coming to a close, Haresh Jogani moved to disqualify the judge, accusing her of “racial animus” toward his lawyer and other misconduct. In a filing last week, Judge Susan Bryant-Deason denied doing anything improper and rejected the claim that she’s “biased or prejudiced for or against” any of the parties or lawyers in the case. She referred the motion to the court’s supervising judge, where it is pending.

The jury awarded $165 million in damages to brothers Chetan and Rajesh over Haresh’s breach of the diamond partnership, as well as $1.8 billion to Shashi, $234 million to Chetan and $360 million to Rajesh for breach of the real estate partnership.

The jurors also concluded that Shashi, now 77 years old, owns 50% of the real estate partnership, followed by 24% for Haresh, 10% for Rajesh, 9.5% for Shailesh and 6.5% for Chetan, the youngest, who is now 62, according to Ross.

The properties generated as much as $137 million a year in net operating income, according to Michael Friedman, 37, who with his father, Steve, has represented Shashi since 2014, the year after he passed the bar to practice law.

“There’s an enormous portfolio that Shashi built,” he said. “And it sustains itself.”

The case is Jogani v. Jogani, BC290553, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)