Mangaluru cops send notices to Kerala residents who was in Mangaluru on Anti-CAA protest

Mangaluru cops send notices to Kerala residents who was in Mangaluru on Anti-CAA protest

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Jan 20, 2020: The Mangaluru Police have begun issuing notices to people from Kerala, including minors, accusing them of involvement in the violence that erupted in Mangaluru on December 19 during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Police say that over 2,000 people have been identified so far and the Mangaluru North police alone have already issued notices to around 600 people from Kerala.

Notices have been issued to government employees, bank employees, and even minors living in the border areas of Kerala and Karnataka, who were allegedly present in Mangaluru on December 19, Deccan Herald reported.

“Notices have been issued to people living in areas between Manjeshwar and Calicut, who were present in Mangaluru. We have obtained phone numbers from mobile towers at protest sites for December 19, and have identified over 2,000 people, who are from Kerala. We have issued notices to them to prove that they were not part of the protest,” said DySP Gaonkar, the former investigating officer in the case. The case was handed over to the CID on January 11.

Police sources told TNM that the people from Kerala including Popular Front of India activists had allegedly arrived in Mangaluru three days ahead of the protests on December 19 to plan the violence – although the source refused to reveal the number of suspected PFI activists who have been identified. “We have given them time to prove innocence. The inquiry will be conducted in a transparent manner,” Mangaluru Police Commissioner PS Harsha said.

However, the Mangaluru president of Democratic Youth Federation of India, Muneer Katipala, accused the police of trying to create a narrative against people from Kerala. “The police keep saying that people from Kerala planned this. But so far, the police have no evidence. When we ask the police on what basis they are doing this, there is no answer. Now they are just issuing notices to anyone who is from Kerala. A beedi worker, who was not even in the city, also got a notice with section 307 (attempt to murder) in it,” Muneer Katipala said.

Courtesy: The News Minute