Bengaluru: The 21 people arrested in connection with the violence that took place at a CAA protest in Mangaluru on December 19, 2019, were granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, February 18.
At the hearing, the court stated that a deliberate attempt was undertaken to distract from police brutality by denying innocent people of their liberties. Reading the order, Justice John Michael Cunha said, “The records indicate that a deliberate attempt has been made to fabricate evidence and to deprive the petitioners of their liberties. Any criminal antecedents of the petitioners are not disputed… There is no direct evidence to connect the petitioners with the alleged offences. The investigation appears to be mala fide and partisan.”
It can be recalled that two persons were shot dead by police officials near Bunder Police Station in the midst of the violence that took place on the same day.
Following the incident, police named “unknown Muslim persons” in several FIRs as instigators of violence. The FIRs also alleged that the accused had been armed with stones, glass pieces, and soda bottles.
However, the court observed that the accused were not seen with weapons in CCTV footage or photographs produced by the public prosecutor. It also noted that photographs showed police personnel pelting stones at the crowd.
The accused in the case were granted bail upon postage of a Rs 1 lakh bond. They were also directed to not commit similar offences or leave the limits of the trial court without permisson as part of their bail conditions.
