Bengaluru Riots: CCB arrests former Mayor Sampath Raj

Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths arrested former Mayor R Sampath Raj, an accused in a case of August 11, DJ Halli and KG Halli riots, on Monday late night. He was on the run for over a month to evade arrest.

Sampath was reportedly arrested from his hideout in Benson Town in North Bengaluru on Monday late night by a team headed by assistant commissioner of police (ATC), CCB, Venugopal. Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), confirmed his arrest and said, further details about him would be shared after questioning him.

On November 7, the police had arrested Riyazuddin, the aide of Sampath, on the charges of helping him escape by taking him to a farmhouse near Nagarahole and providing him shelter. Sampath had escaped from there before the police reached the farmhouse. Another accused corporator, Abdul Rakeeb Zakir, was also hiding in the same farmhouse, a senior officer said.

Recently the High Court had directed the CCB sleuths to take all the measures to arrest Sampath. The CCB officials are questioning Sampath about his mysterious disappearance from a private hospital in Hebbal where he was admitted for treatment against Covid-19. According to the hospital discharge summary, he was discharged on October 14. Though ACP Venugopal had instructed hospital authorities to inform him about discharge of Sampath's discharge, they had failed to alert the police.

Sampath was earlier interrogated twice by CCB officials and his mobile phone was seized. Based on his statement and findings during the investigation, CCB officials have already filed the charge sheet in the riots case and have mentioned the role of Sampath, especially in torching the house of Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, MLA of Pulakeshinagar constituency.