Padarayanapura row: Women go to police station, seek release of vandalism suspects

Women and children walk on the streets of Padarayanapura which has been sealed down. DH PHOTO/M S MANJUNATH

Many women gathered outside the JJ Nagar police station on Wednesday, seeking the release of their husbands and sons who were arrested for Sunday night's mob attack on a Covid-19 checkpoint in Arafat Nagar, Padarayanapura.

The women claimed that their husbands and sons had been wrongly arrested for attacking BBMP and healthcare workers who were visiting the containment area to quarantine the primary and secondary contacts of a 65-year-old woman who had died of Covid-19 last week.

Police officers, however, warned the women against gathering in groups citing the prohibitory orders and sent them home. They also told them that all the 126 suspects had been arrested on the basis of CCTV footage and asked them to move the court for their release.

The assistant commissioner of police, Kengrei sub-division, said no fresh arrests were made on Wednesday although a manhunt was on for the alleged mastermind, Irfan, who was said to be associated with a controversial outfit called the Karnataka Forum for Dignity. Out of the 126 suspects, four are in police custody.