The total number of arrests in connection with the Bengaluru riots on Tuesday night has risen to 145. Section 144 has been extended in affected localities in the east of the city, an official said yesterday.
“Section 144 has been imposed till tomorrow 6am,” the Central Crime Branch (CCB) deputy commissioner of police said.
Sandeep Patil, joint commissioner of police, crime, said the investigation into Tuesday’s incidents at DJ Halli will continue.
Meanwhile, relatives of the three people who died in police firing on Tuesday night said they were not part of the mob.
According to their families, the three were bystanders and were hit by bullets on Tannery Road.
It has also emerged that P Naveen, the nephew of Congress legislator Akanda Srinivas Murthy, whose derogatory social media post sparked the riots, has been found to be a regular offender with social media posts.
Jain said the police is investigating if the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has any links to the riots.
On Tuesday night, hundreds of people ran amok after Murthy’s nephew Naveen posted a derogatory message on social media.
The mobs pelted stones, injuring 60 policemen, and committed acts of vandalism and arson in DJ Halli, KG Halli, Pulikeshinagar and Kaval Byrasandra areas.
It was not only the Murthy, who suffered arson and vandalism but his siblings also bore the brunt. “All my brothers living with me have no place to live,” said Murthy.
He said 3,000-4,000 people attacked his house, pointing out that they were outsiders.
In addition to his brothers, the mobs also attacked the house of Jayanthi, Murthy’s sister.
As her home is not far away from the legislator’s, the crowd reached Jayanthi’s home as well and wreaked havoc.
Initially, they started pelting stones around 8.30pm and then destroyed the cars and bikes parked outside the home.
The mob later torched the vehicles.
Amid the ensuing melee, Jayanthi’s family locked themselves up in the first floor of their home and slipped out to safety by crossing over to a neighbour’s terrace. Seven family members managed to escape the fury.
Meanwhile, the mobs barged into the house and ran amok, setting fire to even clothes from the wardrobes.
After destroying Jayanthi’s home, the vandals zeroed in on a shop in Kaval Byrasandra. Though the shop owner sensed the trouble and shut his shop, the mob tried opening its shutters but failed.
Later, they managed to break a window and set the shop ablaze and also damaged a employee’s house.