Bengaluru Riots: Chargesheet Names Former Cong Mayor Sampath Raj as an Accused

The Central Crime Branch probing the August 11 violence here over an alleged inflammatory social media post, has filed a preliminary chargesheet in a local court, naming former Congress mayor R Sampath Raj as an accused.

Besides Raj, Congress corporator of Pulakeshinagar, Abdul Rakeeb Zakir has also been named as accused in the 850 page preliminary chargesheet furnished in the court on Monday, CCB sources said without divulging further details of the content.

"Yes. They have been named," Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant told PTI. A CCB official said Sampath Raj, who is the DJ Halli Congress corporator, was among those who had information about the violence and did not share it with police.

Raj and Zakir had been questioned earlier, but have not yet been arrested. Sampath Raj's personal assistant Arun Kumar was arrested on August 19 for allegedly remaining in touch with the leaders of the Bengaluru violence.

Three people were killed after police opened fire on the night of August 11 to quell a mob that went on a rampage in a city locality, irked over a social media post allegedly put out by a Congress legislator's relative. Scores, including around 50 policemen, were injured in the violence, apparently triggered by the online post.

Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy's residence and a police station at D J Halli were among those targeted by the angry mob. The house of the MLA, who was not at home at the time, was allegedly set on fire.

The rioters also torched many police and private vehicles, badly damaged the house and looted the belongings of MLA Murthy and those of his sister. So far, 421 people have been arrested, including the Social Democratic Party of India leader Muzammil Pasha.

The National Investigation Agency is also probing the matter and has nabbed the prime accused in the case. Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had claimed that the internal strife in the Congress, coupled with the coming BBMP (city corporation) elections, had resulted in the violence in Pulakeshinagar.

Rubbishing his statement, state Congress chief D K Shivakumar had charged the government with trying to 'cover up' its failure to prevent the riots by giving misleading statements.

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