The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a key conspirator in the Bengaluru riots in August last year, which claimed the lives of four persons.
The accused identified as 38-year-old Syed Abbas, a resident of Govindpur and the ward president of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in Nagawara in Bengaluru, was produced before a special NIA court in Bengaluru which sent him to six-day custody of the agency.
On August 11 of last year, nearly 3,000 people went on a rampage in Bengaluru, torching the residences of Congress MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy and his sister Jayanthi in response to an inflammatory social media post by a cousin of the lawmaker. The mob then set fire to the DJ Halli and KG Halli police stations, ostensibly because the relative was being held there. The vandals caused damage to both public and private property by setting fire to a number of vehicles.
The police had opened fire to control the angry crowd, killing three people on the spot while the fourth person allegedly involved in the violence died in a hospital later. The NIA has charge-sheeted 138 suspects since taking over the case on September 21, 2020.
NIA said that further investigation is underway.
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