Bengaluru riots were planned, targeted Hindu homes: Report

The riots in DJ Halli and KG Halli were premeditated and the violent mob “specifically targeted certain prominent Hindus in the area,” a fact-finding committee concluded in its report that was submitted to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday.

The committee, headed by retired district judge Srikanth D Babaladi, was constituted by Citizens for Democracy, a citizen group. The report was submitted to Yediyurappa by a delegation led by committee member and retired IAS officer Madan Gopal, who was also a member of the BJP’s 2018 election manifesto committee.

“The riots were pre-planned and organised. The mob has specifically targeted certain prominent Hindus in the area,” the committee said.

“Despite attempts being made to project the same as political rivalry, it was undoubtedly communally motivated. The committee is of the opinion that based on the kind of houses that have been attacked and people who have been targeted, the motive of the riots could also be fear mongering so as to change the demography and turn the area into a Muslim majority one,” the report said.

“It could be seen from the FIRs and certain interactions with the victims that local people were also involved in carrying out this riot,” it added. The report also concluded that SDPI and PFI were involved in “planning and execution” of the incident.

On August 11, a mob ran amok in DJ Halli, KG Halli and Kaval Byrasandra attacking local police stations and the residence of Pulakeshinagar MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy while vandalizing public property in what was said to be a retaliation to a derogatory social media post against Prophet Mohammed. Three persons were killed in police firing.

“It is estimated that nearly 36 government vehicles, nearly 300 private vehicles and many houses were destroyed. The damage could be estimated to be nearly Rs 10-15 crore,” the report said.

“The pattern of the riots is common with that of Delhi and Sweden. Therefore, it is imperative for the state to investigate the incident holistically and not consider them to be isolated and local,” the committee said in one of its recommendations.