Karnataka: Padarayanapura attack 'kingpin' in police custody till May 1

Police will interrogate the prime suspect in the Padarayanapura mob violence until May 1. The third additional city civil and sessions court remanded him in police custody on Tuesday.

Irfan, a resident of Arafat Nagar in Padarayanapura, is said to have been associated with a controversial outfit called the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD). He was arrested from a relative's house in KG Halli on Monday and is accused of leading the attack on the Covid-19 checkpoint in the western Bengaluru locality on April 19.

Police said he instigated the local residents and went absconding after that. Police produced him before the court through video conference. The public prosecutor contended that the mob violence was "well-organised" and that Irfan had "close links" with a local politician whose role needed to be probed.

Police said Irfan underwent a Covid-19 test and the result is awaited. A total of 126 people were previously arrested for the violence.