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NIA arrests DJ Halli riots case accused absconding for a year
The NIA said the investigation revealed that Tabrez is a member of Sagayapuram ward of the SDPI and was involved in hatching the conspiracy to attack the DJ Halli PS in Bengaluru and had instigated many others on WhatsApp groups.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday said it has arrested one person in connection with the Devarajeevanahalli or DJ Halli riots case.
“Yesterday (20.09.2021), NIA in a joint operation along with State Police arrested charge-sheeted absconding accused Tabrez S/o Shaikh Mahaboob, Age 35yrs, R/o 13th Cross, Old Bengaluru Layout, Bengaluru City, Karnataka,” the NIA said in a statement on Tuesday.
The NIA said the investigation revealed that Tabrez is a member of Sagayapuram ward of the SDPI and was involved in hatching the conspiracy to attack the DJ Halli PS and had instigated many others on WhatsApp groups. He was also found involved in burning vehicles and damaging public/ private property, the NIA said. The agency said that further investigation is on.
The arrest comes a year after the riots that engulfed the eastern parts of Bengaluru on the night of August 11 in which at least two persons died. The NIA had taken over the case in August last year.
The NIA named Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) leader Muzamil Pasha for instigating the mob and inciting violence when it started the investigation into the case.
The charges levelled against Pasha was that he had earlier called a meeting and directed the members of PFI (Popular Front of India ) and SDPI to instigate the mob and incite violence.
A mob had gathered outside the residence of Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, the Congress legislator from Pulekeshi Nagar after his nephew put up a derogatory Facebook post on Prophet Mohammed.
Despite the attempt from police to calm tempers down, the growing mob went on a rampage across several localities in the eastern part of the city.
A mob of over 1000 people had spread across eastern parts of Bengaluru, damaging public property, arson and attacking the police.
They attacked D.J.Halli and K.G. Halli police stations and set fire to the building and vehicles parked outside.
The incident had ignited heated exchanges between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, who traded charges of inciting violence to appease its respective voter base.
The former Mayor of Bengaluru and Congress member of the city corporation, Sampath Raj, was also arrested in the riots case.
The case was filed on August 12 after the police station and other public property during the riots and the NIA re-registered the case on September 21, 2020, and took up the investigation.
“After conducting a thorough investigation, NIA had filed the charge sheet before the NIA Special Court, Bengaluru under various sections of UA(P) Act, IPC and Karnataka Prevention of Destruction and Loss of Property Act (KPDLP Act) against 109 accused persons on 05.02.2021,” the NIA said in a statement on Tuesday.
