Dec 19 unrest: Fact-finding team claims police action pre-planned, Muslims selectively targeted

Team Udayavani, Jan 4, 2020, 12:27 PM IST

Mangaluru: A fact-finding team involving representatives of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) All India People’s Forum (AIPF) and National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations (NCHRO), in its interim report has mentioned that the police action during anti-CAA protests in the city on December 19 in which two persons were killed was a deliberate one

The report states that the police selectively targeted Muslims and even attacked a mosque. Arrangements were made for sandbags, riot gear and KSRP forces were deployed in the area beforehand. This suggests that the police action was a preplanned one.

After scanning through 60-70 videos circulated on social media, it appears that around 150 youths protested by sloganeering initially and the police dispersed them with lathicharge, said members of the fact-finding team. The report further says though the protest had been called off after imposition of Section 144 in the city the news had not been circulated to all which led to confusion among the youth.

Thereafter, the report says the police went on a rampage and barged into shops, pulling out people, selectively targeting Muslims. At around 4 pm, a team of police attacked Ibrahim Khaleel mosque where people were offering Namaz. The police apparently sought to chase certain youth into the said mosque and then initiated an indiscriminate attack on the mosque with stones and teargas through and above the slats of the mosque gate.

The report also claims that the situation escalated when former Mayor Ashraf who was brought in by the police to calm the protesters got injured on the head by the police.

The two victims of police firing on that day – Abdul Jaleel and Nausheen were bystanders and were not part of the protest states the report.

YJ Rajendra, PUCL state president, said the fact that the police mentioning the religion of riot-accused as ‘Muslims’ in an open FIR again proves beyond doubt that the police acted with prejudices against the community.