Bengaluru cops barged in, picked up innocents: Residents

Residents of two adjacent apartment complexes on Shampur Main Road have accused the police of arbitrarily picking up youth over with the riots.

Residents said around 200 policemen barged into the apartment complexes, broke open the doors and randomly picked up around 20 men around 1.15 am on Friday.

According to Zakiya Banu, all her three sons — Tanveer, Faraz and Faiz, who she claimed had no role in the stone-throwing or arson — were picked up from her flat at Fathima Enclave. “I begged with the police to not arrest them as they are innocent. They said they would check and release them,” she said, adding she had not heard from their children since.

In another flat of the same building, two sons of a woman named Shaheen Taj were picked up by the police who broke open her door. In tears, she said she was a widow and was dependent on her two sons — 25-year-old Yasin and 18-year-old Muhib, both of whom have been picked up. Her son-in-law, who is the principal of Fathima Girls’ College, Coles Road, was also picked up.

While there were no arrests in a few houses, which residents said was because there weren’t young men living there, at least 10 men are said to have been arbitrarily picked up from the building.

Similar allegations were levelled by the residents of a nearby apartment complex, where nine people were picked up. Ayesha, the sister of a software engineer named Tabrez Hassan, complained that he was picked up even though he was not involved. Kuldeep Kumar Jain, DCP (Crime), said all the people were picked up on suspicion and were being questioned. Asked about complaints the police had not revealed the whereabouts of the suspects or produced any arrest warrant, he said the relevant documents would be provided to the families soon.