The Bengaluru riots claimed at least three lives.
The NIA said the defendant is a bank recovery agent and was part of the main conspiracy behind the riots that claimed at least three lives and injured 40 police officers.
- News18.com
- Last update: September 24, 2020 8:05 PM IST
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The National Investigative Agency (NIA) searched 30 locations in Bengaluru on Thursday in connection with violence in the DJ Halli and KG Halli areas last month and arrested Sayed Saddiq Ali, who authorities said was a key conspirator.
The NIA said Ali is a bank repossession agent and was on the run since the Aug. 11 riots that were unleashed in the city by hundreds of people, claiming at least three lives and injuring 40 police officers.
More than 3,000 people had made a rampage by setting fire to the residences of the MLA R Congress Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy, his sister Jayanthi, and the Devara Jeevanahalli and Kadugondanahalli police stations.
The action came days after the NIA took over the investigation of two cases in which city police invoked the Prevention of Illegal Activities Act. During the searches, air pistols, pellets, sharp weapons, iron rods, digital devices, DVRs and many documents related to the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the People’s Front of India (PFI) were seized, the NIA said. .
The violence was said to have been triggered by an allegedly inflammatory post on social media, allegedly posted by a relative of Murthy, who represents the Pulakeshinagar constituency.
Previously, the police had found evidence suggesting that several defendants in the case had ties to those accused of terrorism or communal attacks in the past, including the Church Street bomb blast in Bengaluru in December 2014.
Police sources said that more than 380 people had been arrested in cases related to riots in the KG Halli area, and several have ties to organizations such as SDPI and also Al Hind, a dissident terrorist group.
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