NEW DELHI: Two days after he took over the investigation into the mob violence that rocked Bangalore on August 11, 2020, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) searched 30 different locations around the city and arrested a key conspirator, Sayed Saddiq Ali.
NIA sources said the ties of Saddiq, a bank recovery agent and allegedly a member of Congress, With hardline teams, the State Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Popular Front of India (PFI) are being investigated.
The locations searched Thursday were essentially the residences of detained defendants, defendants on the run and suspects in the two cases related to the mob attacks. Recoveries made by the NIA include air pistols, pellets, sharp weapons, iron bars, digital devices, DVRs, and many “incriminating” documents and material related to SDPI and PFI.
Saddiq, 44, of Bengaluru, the NIA said, was directly involved in the Aug. 11 attack on the KG Halli police station in Bengaluru, which caused massive damage and destruction of public and government property, including the building. from the police station and vehicles parked there and in nearby areas.
Saddiq had been on the run since the mob attacks that day. He was named a defendant in the original FIR recorded by the Bengaluru police, after eyewitness accounts indicated that he was leading the violent mob and was actively participating in the attack. After taking over the case, NIA served Saddiq with a subpoena at his residence and Saddiq responded by appearing before the agency’s investigation team. He was arrested after a round of questioning.
Saddiq’s alleged ties to the SDPI and PFI (whose leaders and members are believed to have instigated the mob to unleash violence in protest against the allegedly disparaging Facebook post of Pulakeshi Nagar’s MLA Congressional nephew Akhanda Srinivas Murthy) are under investigation, ”an officer told TOI.
The cases taken over by the NIA on Tuesday concern crowd violence, allegedly against a “derogatory” comment on social media that was seen as an insult to the religious sentiments of Muslims, by Naveen, nephew of MLA Srinivas Congress Akhanda Murthy. SDPI State Secretary Muzamil Pasha and other SDPI / PFI members, NIA said, had gathered the mob at the homes of Naveen, Akhanda Srinivas Murthy and at the premises of the DJ Halli and KG Halli police stations. The mob then destroyed the facilities and resorted to arson, creating fear and panic among the people.
.
