Bengaluru, Feb 12 (IANS) Karnataka Police arrested eight persons on Wednesday for the attack on a police station in Mysuru city. The arrested were allegedly involved in stone pelting on the police station and DCP’s vehicle.
The accused have been identified as Suhail aka Syed Suhail, Rahil Pasha and Ayaan — residents of Shatinagar in Mysuru; Ejaj, Syed Sadiq from Ghousianagar; Sadiq Pasha aka Sadiq, Arbaz Sharif and Shohaib Pasha — residents of Rajiv Nagar in Mysuru.
The police have launched a hunt for other accused. Police sources stated that getting a hint that they are being hunted, many accused have deserted their houses and disappeared after leaving behind their mobiles at their homes. The police reaching the houses of the accused based on tower locations are gathering more information about them.
Sources explained that the police have tracked the persons indulged in rioting and stone pelting demanding that the accused in the case should be handed over to them. The cops have taken DVRs from more than 10 CCTV cameras installed in the vicinity of the Udayagiri police station, targeted by the mob.
Karnataka Police have also launched a hunt for an Islamic religious teacher who delivered hate speech provoking the mob to attack a police station in Mysuru city over an objectionable social media post.
As per sources, the accused Maulvi has been identified as Mufti Mushtaq Maqbooli and the social media post was over the defeat of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly elections.
The police have got Maqbooli’s video clip, in which he is seen making highly provoking statements, including taking extreme violence.
The police have tracked 50 to 60 people who took to violence, including stone pelting. The police said, all of them would be detained for questioning and legal procedures would be initiated soon. The accused are identified with the CCTV footage.
Police sources stated that most of the people who indulged in stone pelting were locals. A special team headed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) has been formed to probe the case.
Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said on Tuesday that orders have been issued to arrest those who incited violence by pelting stones at the Udayagiri police station in Mysuru.
Dy CM Shivakumar visited the spot in Mysuru on Wednesday and said that wrongdoers would be punished.
Earlier, Karnataka Police had detained one person in connection with a controversial social media post making communal comments against a particular community while celebrating the defeat of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly elections which triggered tension in Mysuru city.
The accused, a resident of Kalyannagar in Mysuru, had put up a post ridiculing Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal. The accused further made provocative communal statements against a particular religious group. The post went viral on social media on Monday evening.
By late Monday night, a group belonging to the minority community gathered in front of the Udayagiri police station demanding action against the accused person.
Although the police tried to pacify the crowd and even roped in religious leaders who requested them to calm down, the situation turned violent and the crowd started pelting stones at the police station. The mob also attacked the official vehicle of the DCP.
They raised slogans and when the situation went out of control, the police resorted to lathi-charge and later fired tear gas.
Additional police forces were called and the senior police officers along with local political leaders appealed to the crowd assuring them that action would be taken against the accused person. They somehow managed to convince the mob to withdraw the protest.
Though the police have controlled the situation, tension has still prevailed in the area.
–IANS
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