Muzammil Pasha, Dist Secy of SDPI, has been arrested as the kingpin behind the violence and arson in Bengaluru yesterday. Another SDPI member Ayaz, has also been arrested, say local reports. The mob took to arson and rioting over a Facebook post which was posted by the nephew of Cong Dalit MLA in North Bengaluru.
The situation is still said to be simmering with additional police from adjoining districts being deployed to contain the situation from any further escalation. State Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Minister R Ashok assured people that those involved in violence will not be spared and those behind the screen will also be exposed and brought to book.
As soon as the rioting mob was about to enter other areas, authorities immediately imposed Sec 144 to take control of the situation. When requests by police to stop violence was not heeded by the mob, the police eventually opened fire as the lost resort to scramble the violent mob. One rioter was killed on the spot and three others were injured.
Home Minister Bommai had instructed the police to take control of the situation. Police say that the narrow lanes accommodated more than 3 to 4 thousand rioters which made it difficult to initially curb the situation.
Local residents say they have never before seen violence of this magnitude. The locals also informed the media that innocent people were physically assaulted on the road, creating a war like situation.
Reports suggest that SDPI leaders and local Muslim leaders were successful in mobilizing a huge mob of around three to four thousand rioters in quick time and unleash the violence.
According to initial information gathered from the news sources available to VSK, a group of Muslim youth, agitated over the FB Post first approached the SDPI leaders and not the cyber crime branch.
More than 60 police personnel have been injured while performing duty. The death toll is said to have risen to 3 according to latest reports. Panic and fear prevailed among people belonging to the minority Hindu community in the area under attack.
Speaking to the media former minister and Muslim leader U T Khader blamed the Govt for the failure of law and order and avoided commenting on hooligans and the Muslim mob which wrecked havoc in parts of the city.
The rioting which started yesterday evening, continued late into the night with mob vandalising police vehicles, police station and fire engines at Devarajivanahalli and public property.
In a similar incident in 2019, Kamlesh Tiwari, founder of Hindu Samaj Party, was shot dead in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly making blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad. Replicating a pattern similar to Charlie Hebdo attack, in 2017, a group of Jihadis had vandalised India Today/Aaj Tak office in Bengaluru after Aaj Tak TV journalist Rohit Sardana made posted a tweet, which was allegedly ‘blasphemous.’
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