The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has taken over the investigation into the violence and police firing that left two dead in Mangaluru on December 19. A protest over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, amid prohibitory orders, had turned violent near the office of the Deputy Commissioner and in Bunder area last month.
A team of eight officials, headed by Superintendent of Police (Special Inquiries) Rahul Shahapurwad, is investigating 24 cases of rioting, unlawful assembly, and assault on public servants registered in the Mangaluru South and Mangaluru North police stations. Of these, 11 have been registered in North station. The team officially took over the investigation on January 17. A notification asking the CID to take over the probe was issued on January 10.
Udupi Deputy Commissioner G. Jagadeesha is conducting a magisterial inquiry into the police firing. The CID is probing the 24 cases, including the police firing.
The city police have sourced CCTV camera footage and videos of the violence to arrest a few persons allegedly involved in rioting. A team of city police analysed mobile tower dumps of places of violence and issued notice to around 600 people from Kasaragod district in Kerala. They have been asked to appear before the Mangaluru North police and give statements as police suspect their involvement in unlawful assembly and rioting on December 19. Among these people are women and patients who had come to the city for treatment.
“All the rioting cases will now be looked into by the CID,” Police Commissioner P.S. Harsha told The Hindu on Sunday.
