Police arrested a leader of the banned Populist Front of India (PFI) from Davanagere in connection with the 2020 Bengaluru riots on Thursday.
The leader, Tahir Hussain, was listed as accused number 15 in the case registered at KG Halli police station in Bengaluru in 2022. A chargesheet was already been filed in the case, but Hussain was absconding.
DCP East Bengaluru D Devaraja said, “One of the accused in KG Halli and DJ Halli violence had given a statement about Hussain’s involvement in the case. He was absconding during the National Investigation Agency raids on all PFI offices. He was the president of PFI Harihara Taluk of the Davangere unit.”
The DCP said that Hussain has been remanded to six-day police custody.
Rioting took place at DJ Halli and KG Halli in August 2020. The riots were triggered after a Facebook post by Naveen, the nephew of Congress MLA from Pulakeshi Nagar, Akhanda Srinivas Murthy.
Curfew was imposed in the affected areas and police were forced to open fire on the crowds. A total of three people had died and over 80 police personnel were injured by armed assailants during the riots.
Over 100 people have been arrested in connection with the riots so far, some of whom were allegedly members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).