Bengaluru police conduct raids across city, detain 1500 rowdies

Bengaluru: In the wee hours of Saturday, the city police teams led by the jurisdictional DCPs conducted raids on the homes of rowdies and history-sheeters across the city. The police raided more than 2,000 houses and 1,500 rowdy-sheeters were detained for questioning.

Lethal weapons, illegal arms, narcotic substances found during the raid were seized. "Besides, land documents, mobile phones, sim cards, and vehicles without valid documents have been seized for examination and verification. A detailed examination of antecedents of all the detained rowdies/rowdy-sheeters is also being conducted. Those found indulging in illegal activities will be sent to prison," Commissioner of Police Kamal Pant informed media persons. "Rowdies are being questioned and they would be booked under the stringent Goonda Act or Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA) if required," a senior official who is part of the raid in central division, said.

"We are also verifying the seized documents, and cases pertaining to some of them will be referred to the Income Tax department or the Directorate of Enforcement," he added.

As part of the operations, the rowdies were taken to respective police stations where senior officers gave them stern warning.

"Most of the rowdies lend money to the public at exorbitant interest rates and get their property documents as security. All those documents are being verified and property owners will be summoned for enquiry if required," a senior police officer from another division said.