Hubballi violence: Judicial custody of 154 accused extended

Hubballi: Considering the arguments by the prosecution, the local Fourth JMFC Court in Hubballi, Karnataka, has extended the judicial custody of the 154 persons arrested in connection with the Hubballi violence till May 13.

The accused persons including the corporater of AIMIM were arrested following the large scale communal violence in Hubballi after an objectionable post surfaced on social media.

The police have also arrested the youth who put up the objectionable post which hurt the religious sentiments of a particular community. He has been permitted to attend II PUC (Class 12) exams under tight police security.

Among those arrested, 103 persons have been kept in Kalaburagi prison, 17 in Bellary and 10 in Mysurili prison. The others are lodged in Dharwad and Hubballi sub-jails.

As many as 20 persons have submitted bail petitions and police are filing objections to them.

Following the large scale violence, curfew was clamped in Hubballi on April 16. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stated that the conspiracy and planned attack on the police station has been considered very seriously. Strict action will be initiated against those involved. The organizations and individuals behind the incident will not be spared, he added.

The violent crowd which had gathered near Old Hubballi police station in the thousands had damaged public and police property. Twelve policemen were injured in the stone pelting.