Following the violence in Bengaluru East, the police have detained over one hundred people and arrested several people. Trouble started on Tuesday night after a group of people from the Muslim community gathered at the DJ Halli police station demanding action against a derogatory post allegedly uploaded by Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy's nephew, against Prophet Muhammed. Things got out of control as the crowd, which grew in size, blamed the police for not filing an FIR immediately.
In that chaos and violence that ensued, one police station was set on fire, another was attacked and around 25 vehicles charred. Three protestors lost their lives in the violence and subsequent police firing. At least six members of the SDPI were also at the DJ Halli police station in the night, and a few of them too, have been arrested, according to sources.
Police said that 42 people have been kept in Devara Jeevanahalli or DJ police station after they were taken into preventive custody while 30 others were at the Kadugodinahalli police station. TNM was not able to confirm where the others have been kept.
Local residents who live near the DJ Halli police station said that after the situation was brought under control late on Tuesday night, police went to many individual houses in the areas surrounding the police station and took away a busload of men.
"My husband came home at 10 pm last night, and went to bed as he was tired. He has had an operation recently and is still recovering. But while we were sleeping, at around 4 am, the police hit the doors until we opened and then took away my husband. We don't know where they were taken." Ammeena said. Another woman said that her 17-year-old son and her 72-year-old neighbour who was running a fever were also taken away.
Saleem, another resident of DJ Halli claimed that he did not know the people who started the riot. "We have no idea who these people are. I am an auto driver. Since the roads in front of the police station were blocked, I took a longer route and locked up my vehicle. We only know what came on TV as we had locked up the gate and doors."
Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai however told TNM that most of the rioters were from the region and were not outsiders.
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