Bengaluru riots: SDPI members acted like a 'terrorist gang', says report

The magisterial inquiry into K G Halli and D J Halli violence has concluded that members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), acted like a "terrorist gang" and conspired to strike terror among the minds of people and police authorities.

The Cabinet, on December 22, accepted the magisterial inquiry report submitted by the Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner on the sequence of the incidents, circumstances and the reasons for the death of three miscreants during the violence at K G Halli and D J Halli in August 2020. It gave a clean chit to the police action of lathi-charge and firing.

According to the Cabinet note accessed by DH, the report stated that illegal acts, committed by the unlawful assembly, are not only due to the alleged Facebook post by P Naveen, nephew of Pulakeshinagar Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, but there is a larger conspiracy by the SDPI members.

“During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that the accused persons conspired with each other to form an unlawful assembly to protest against the decisions of courts and government in cases relating to the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens (NRC), The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act (popularly known as Triple Talaq Act) and the final judgment in the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi dispute,” the note has claimed.

On August 11, 2020, a violent crowd gathered in front of police stations and started pelting stones and setting fire to vehicles around. “Tear Gas shells were fired, caning was done, rubber pellets were fired and all lawful measures and resources were put in place but all in vain, the note stated. “As the crowd tried to snatch the weapon from the police and continued to attack police and police stations, the police were left with no choice but to open fire to protect the life of police, protect government and private properties,” the note explained.

The note further claimed that despite all the precautionary measures the chances of spreading riots to other communally sensitive areas were very high, hence it was inevitable for the police to take full control of the situation.