The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested 17 party leaders of the Islamist organisations — Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Popular Front of India (PFI) — for their involvement in violent attack & large scale rioting at KG Halli Police Station, in Bengaluru on Aug 11.
So far, 187 people have been arrested in the case and further probe is underway, the NIA said.
NIA Arrests 17 accused persons in Bengaluru Riots Case. pic.twitter.com/HxG0N7pKOJ
— NIA India (@NIA_India) December 21, 2020
In September 2020, days after the riots broke out, the government had instituted a fact-finding committee to determine the facts of the matter. The committee found that the communal flare-ups were pre-planned, organised and specifically targeted Hindus in the area.
It has also said that the rioting bore a stark resemblance to the violence witnessed in Delhi earlier this year and in Sweden more recently. The fact-finding committee also discovered that the local populace was actively involved in the execution of the riots and also had prior knowledge about it. The Committee also said that SDPI and PFI were involved in the planning and execution of the incident.
NIA conducts raids at the offices of SDPI and PFI
Earlier last month, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had conducted raids at several places in connection with Bengaluru riots, including four offices of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). SDPI is the political wing of the Muslim extremist organisation Political Front of India (PFI). According to a statement issued by NIA then, the raids were conducted on a total of 43 locations in Bengaluru, Karnataka, concerning the large-scale communal conflagration that had broken out in the metropolitan city of Bengaluru in August this year.
The NIA officials had then seized incriminating material related to the SDPI/PFI along with weapons like sword, knife and iron rods during the raids. The agency had informed that 293 people had been in connection with the riots that swept the city. Out of 293, 124 had been arrested in the case pertaining to the riots in HJ Halli Police Station case and the rest 169 arrests were made in relation to the riots in KG Halli Police Station case.
Islamist mobs burn down Bengaluru over an alleged Facebook post insulting Prophet Muhammad
Violent Islamist mobs had burnt down the city of Bengaluru in violent riots on August 11 this year over an alleged Facebook post of the nephew of Congress MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy about Prophet Muhammad. The riots unleashed by violent Muslim left four people dead and 60 police personnel injured. Two police stations and the house of Srinivas Murthy was torched down. After taking over the investigation of the riots, the NIA had named SDPI leader Muzamil Pasha for “instigating the mob” to unleash violence on the streets of east Bengaluru.
Soon after riots broke out in the city, the situation took an ugly turn when two separate Muslim mobs gathered in front of KG Halli and DJ Halli police stations. The Muslim mobs locked the gates from outside and pelted stones at the police station. At least 10 vehicles, including Innovas of two DCPs, were damaged in front of the stations.
The mob also set fire to the vehicles in front of the DJ Halli police station. In what seemed to be a pre-planned attack by the Muslim mob, the Muslim mob, carrying petrol and other weapons, also barged into the nearest police quarters and vandalised the premises.
