Deccan Herald
20 September 2007
Needle on Bajrangis
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa might have given a clean chit to pro-Hindu organisations. But the City police suspect the involvement of Bajrang Dal men in Tuesday night's arson incident near Bommanahalli on Hosur Road in which two people were charred to death when a mob set a Tamil Nadu SETC (State Enterprise Transport Corporation) bus afire. According to police sources, the guerrilla-style raid wherein the mob vanished after the job, had all the trappings of a Bajrang Dal operation. The behaviour of the mob and the slogans — Jai Shri Ram and Bharat Mata ki jai — raised, point to a Bajrang Dal role, they said.
A torn hand-written note recovered from near the torched bus, had references to Lord Ram.
Nearly 15 people in and around Hosur Road — Hongasandra, Bommanahalli, Garvebhavipalya and Hulimavu area — have been picked up for questioning.
mooter_page_section="AdUnit2";
A senior police officer said, “The suspicion in the arson incident is on Hindutva outfits. Based on the accounts of the driver and the conductor, sketches of the arsonists have been prepared and some people have been picked up for questioning.”
Attack on house
The police also believe that Tuesday night’s other attack targeting the J P Nagar residence of Ms Selvi, TN Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s daughter, was also the handiwork of people who share the same ideology as that of the mob involved in the arson incident. Though both incidents were not the work of a same group, the attackers share ideological affinity, the police suspect.
The City police have picked up nine persons in connection with the J P Nagar attack. Besides throwing kerosene bombs and stones at the house, the miscreants had left behind at the scene of the attack a letter warning people against insulting Lord Rama.
The police are confident that both the cases would be cracked in the next 48 hours. An identification parade will be conducted on Thursday morning both at J P Nagar and Madiwala police stations.
Police Commissioner N Achutha Rao, however, did not rule out the possibility of the same group’s hand in both the JP Nagar and Bommanahalli incidents.
The charred bodies — of one male and one female — found in the bus are yet to be identified. According to the police, the identification of the bodies has been made difficult as both the deceased had not purchased tickets. In fact, barring one passenger who had a reserved ticket, all others were yet to buy tickets when the arsonists struck. Precautionary measures have been taken and security tightened on Hosur Road. According to police sources, the guerrilla-style raid wherein the mob vanished after the job, had all the trappings of a Bajrang Dal operation. The behaviour of the mob and the slogans — Jai Shri Ram and Bharat Mata ki jai — raised, point to a Bajrang Dal role, they said.
A torn hand-written note recovered from near the torched bus, had references to Lord Ram.
Nearly 15 people in and around Hosur Road — Hongasandra, Bommanahalli, Garvebhavipalya and Hulimavu area — have been picked up for questioning.
mooter_page_section="AdUnit2";
A senior police officer said, “The suspicion in the arson incident is on Hindutva outfits. Based on the accounts of the driver and the conductor, sketches of the arsonists have been prepared and some people have been picked up for questioning.”
Attack on house
The police also believe that Tuesday night’s other attack targeting the J P Nagar residence of Ms Selvi, TN Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s daughter, was also the handiwork of people who share the same ideology as that of the mob involved in the arson incident. Though both incidents were not the work of a same group, the attackers share ideological affinity, the police suspect.
The City police have picked up nine persons in connection with the J P Nagar attack. Besides throwing kerosene bombs and stones at the house, the miscreants had left behind at the scene of the attack a letter warning people against insulting Lord Rama.
The police are confident that both the cases would be cracked in the next 48 hours. An identification parade will be conducted on Thursday morning both at J P Nagar and Madiwala police stations.
Police Commissioner N Achutha Rao, however, did not rule out the possibility of the same group’s hand in both the JP Nagar and Bommanahalli incidents.
The charred bodies — of one male and one female — found in the bus are yet to be identified. According to the police, the identification of the bodies has been made difficult as both the deceased had not purchased tickets. In fact, barring one passenger who had a reserved ticket, all others were yet to buy tickets when the arsonists struck. Precautionary measures have been taken and security tightened on Hosur Road.
|
