Bengaluru violence: Identifying rioters a challenge

BENGALURU: Police arrested 147 people in connection with Tuesday night’s violence in east Bengaluru until Thursday, although the number of rioters was between 3,000 and 4,000. Sources said they are finding it difficult to identify the other rioters as most of them were wearing masks.
“There aren’t many CCTVs in these areas,” a police officer said. “Also, a majority of the rioters wore masks and identification is difficult.” Police have collected about 400 CCTV videos from KG Halli and DJ Halli police station limits and are also collecting video footage and stills from the media. A total 11 teams has been assigned the task of identifying miscreants.
“If one has covered his/her face with a mask, identification will take some time as we have to use technology. We will identify all the miscreants as quickly as possible,” a senior officer said.
Meanwhile, police scaled up presence in DJ Halli and KG Halli areas on Thursday, deploying Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel and additional Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) platoons. Senior police officers including additional commissioners and deputy commissioners are camping in the area. Police commissioner Kamal Pant visited the area twice and took stock of the situation. No untoward incidents were reported.
Local police accompanied by RAF and KSRP sleuths carried flag march in affected areas.