The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely take over the probe into two cases related to the August 11 violence at D.J. Halli here, sources in the security agencies said.
Of the 65 FIRs registered in connection with the violence, the two main cases being probed by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the city police in which provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 have been invoked are likely to be handed over to the NIA, sources said.
Arvind Limbavali, who visited D.J. Halli on Monday leading a fact-finding team of the BJP, had made the first demand to hand over the probe to the NIA, as he described the violence “a threat to national security”. A day later, the city police termed the violence “an act of terror” and invoked provisions of the UAPA in two FIRs probing the conspiracy behind the violence, following a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday. The NIA can probe only terror-related cases.
Meanwhile, senior city police officials said they were unaware of the development and they would continue with their probe, until any orders on the transfer of case came from the State government.
‘No order yet’
A senior NIA official said that while the Ministry of Home Affairs (was yet to issue formal orders, discussions were on to the effect. A senior State Minister also said the cases would mostly be transferred to the NIA “as investigations have now revealed terror links to the conspiracy behind the violence”.
CCB officials presently probing these cases have claimed that an analysis of the call detail records (CDR) of nearly 2,000 men gathered at the three sites of the violence on the night of August 11 had thrown up over 40 numbers that were earlier in touch with several terror modules in the city.
“We have found numbers that were in touch with accused in the 2013 Malleswaram bomb blast allegedly carried out by Al Umma, Church Street blast of 2014 allegedly carried out by the SIMI, murder of RSS worker Rudresh in 2016 allegedly carried out by members of the PFI, and the recently busted IS-inspired terror module Al Hind. These modules are unrelated and these contacts are old and date back to even 2012–13. The nature of these contacts and the role of these men in those cases need to be probed,” a senior CCB official said.
However, CCB officials noted that these web of contacts were of interest from the perspective of security, but there was no direct link between any of these modules and the violence at D.J. Halli.
Councillor’s husband grilled
The Central Crime Branch police have grilled Syed Nasir, husband of Congress councillor Syed Sazida from Muneshwarabagar ward, part of the Pulakeshinagar Assembly constituency. He was summoned and questioned after technical investigation showed he was in touch with some of the accused in the riots case, sources said.
The CCB has already questioned two other Congress councillors from the Assembly segment — Sampath Raj, former Mayor, and A.R. Zakir, They have arrested Kaleem Pasha, husband of Nagawara Congress councillor Irshad Begum. The CCB has also arrested Arun Kumar, personal assistant to Mr. Sampath Raj.
