The Doddaballapur police have arrested 23 people who are members of a pro-Hindutva outfit and registered six cases against social media groups who circulated videos of the attack and arson to communalise the incident of an attack on people allegedly transporting beef in six vehicles from Hindupur to Bengaluru in the early hours of Sunday.
According to the police, the accused, representing Sri Rama Sene and other pro-Hindutva outfits, intercepted the vehicle at Doddaballapur IB circle, assaulted the drivers and paraded them with the meat on their heads. The accused dumped the meat on the road and protested, accusing the police and local administration of allowing beef smuggling. The accused also set fire to one of the cars, creating a tense situation.
While the police rushed to the spot and struggled hard to contain the situation, the accused recorded the video of the incident and started circulating it on their social media groups and accounts to communalise the incident, said the police. The police had to call additional deployment to contain the situation and later arrested the accused for dacoity, assault using dangerous weapons, arson, rioting, and unlawful assembly, among other sections under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Seven men, including drivers of the vehicles, were booked under the anti-cow slaughter law, a senior officer said.
The police suspect that there are more people involved in the incident, and efforts are on to track them down. The accused had allegedly patrolled the highway, blocked the vehicles and harassed the motorists on the pretext of checking the vehicles illegally. An ice cream truck driver was also assaulted and robbed in the melee.
