Two killed in cop firing after violence in Bengaluru over derogatory post, accused held

Hours after violence broke out in some parts of Bengaluru due to a social media post by a Congress MLA's nephew that allegedly hurt the sentiments of a community, the Bengaluru Police arrested the main accused Naveen as well as 130 others for arson, stone pelting and attacks on the police.

Taking to Twitter, Bengaluru Police chief Kamal Pant also appealed to people to co-operate with the police to maintain peace.

Meanwhile, Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai confirmed that the police had to resort to firing to control the mob, leading to the death of at least one protestor. It was also reported that Karnataka chief minister had spoken to Bommai over the developments in Bengaluru.

Taking note of the situation, Bommai said, "Issue will be probed but vandalism is not the solution. Additional forces have been deployed. Action will be taken against miscreants."

Sixty others police personnel were also injured in the mob violence, the city police chief said, adding that the number of casualties due to police firing was two.

"Two people died in police firing, one injured shifted to a hospital. Around 60 police personnel including an Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) have been injured in the clashes," Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said.

"Section 144 of CrPC to prohibit the assembly of four or more persons in an area has been imposed in Bengaluru and curfew has been imposed in DJ Halli and KG Halli police station limits of the city," he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Congress MLA Srinivas Murthy's residence was vandalised. The mob also targeted the police station and damaged vehicles believing that the police had kept the accused detained there, eyewitnesses said.

The police teams that tried to contain the violence also bore the brunt of the mob as their vehicles were damaged, eye-witnesses added.

Chamarajpet MLA BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, too, rushed to the spot and tried to comfort the agitated mob. However, it was not possible to comfort the mob, which broke into small groups and started pelting stones at police too.