Bengaluru Riot: 60 More Arrested, Including BBMP Corporator’s Husband
Bengaluru: The city police Friday arrested 60 more people, including Congress corporator Irshad Begum’s husband Kaleem Pasha, in connection with the violence in east Bengaluru that resulted in three deaths into police firing and over 150, including policemen, injured..
Irshad Begum is a Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (civic authority) corporator from Nagwara ward.
Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Sandeep Patil told the media that “In the violence and rioting cases in the city so far we have arrested 206 accused including Kaleem Pasha and a detailed investigation and the process to identify the others are still underway.”
Pasha was named as the 7th accused in the FIR filed by Bengaluru Police on Thursday and with this, the violence took a political twist.
According to that FIR, Pasha is one of the conspirators behind the violence that rocked east Bengaluru on Tuesday.
The BJP was quick to take on the Congress following the arrest of Pasha. Senior BJP leader and general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh said in a tweet, “Kalim Pasha , husband of @INCKarnataka corporator arrested. 4 senior functionaries of SDPI arrested . Still State Cong leaders trying to shift blame. Not condemning riots . Eyes only on upcoming BBMP elections .”
So far six FIRs have also been registered by local police officers against leaders of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and its activists, numbering over 200. P Naveen, 32, whose social media post allegedly triggered violence, was also taken into custody.
Meanwhile, the BJP government in the state has renewed its demand for a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political arm, the SDPI. It’ll be the fourth ban recommendation to the Centre.
“Our government is committed to banning these fringe outfits on charges of disturbing communal harmony and creating social disturbance,’’ Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai told the media.
“We have started collecting evidence against SDPI and PFI. The preliminary investigation clearly indicates their involvement. We’ll see to it they are banned soon,” he added.
The government had earlier tried to ban the organisations following the attack on the former minister and Narasimharaja MLA Tanveer Sait in Mysuru last November, Mangaluru riots during protests in December and reports of hitmen being hired to eliminate Tejasvi Surya, the BJP Lok Sabha member from Bangaluru South. The issue was taken to the cabinet in January this year where it is pending.