Bodo vs Bangladeshi

[G.Subramaniam]

DNA = Jogeshwari resident Abdul Qadir Mohammed Yunus Ansari, who was arrested by the crime branch late on Monday night for desecrating the Amar Jawan memorial, has told the police that he had attended a conspiracy meeting in Jogeshwari, which was attended by around 200 people.



Belonging to the Deobandi sect, Ansari said that the participants of the meeting were instigated by speeches given on the injustice suffered by Muslims in other parts of the country, citing examples of the killings in Assam and Myanmar. They were provoked and motivated to create chaos at the protest in Azad Maidan to condemn the Assam killings.



Ansari’s statement has strengthened the notion that the riots were planned. “Even though all the rioters didn’t know each other, it now appears that the meetings and instigations were planned strategically throughout the city,” said a senior crime branch officer.



Crime branch is now trying to find out who had organised the meeting.



Many rioters who have been arrested have already confessed to the police that they had only gathered with the intention of creating mayhem. The police are now searching for the instigators, who didn’t participate in the riots but did orchestrate them.