BENGALURU: The Kalasipalya police, who arrested a six-member gang of alleged Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) members for the attack on RSS activist Varun Bhopala, have taken the accused into police custody till January 22. The police have learnt that there are two more accused in the conspiracy to attack Hindu organisation leaders, and efforts are on to nab them based on information provided by the arrested men, an officer said.
However, a senior police officer told TNSE that it was too early to reveal details of the investigation, and that interrogations were on. During the interrogation, two of the accused—Sanaulla Sharif and Sadiq Ul Ameen—who had escaped after attacking Bhopala, had returned on a bike to confirm whether he had died or not. The duo also visited Victoria Hospital to check on Bhopala’s condition, and when they found out that the injured was shifted to a private hospital, they left the city, and informed their associates about his survival.
The officer added, “We have got leads on the prime accused who actually funded the miscreants to carry out attacks on the leaders. They had met more than eight times around Tannery Road and DJ Halli. The absconding accused also visited the houses of the arrested persons to assure that the incident won’t affect their families in the future.”
“However, no fresh arrests have been made in the case, but we have come to the conclusion that it was a well-organised crime, and of their future plans. If they are directly involved in the attack, we will book them under proper sections. Meanwhile, the case has been transferred to the Central Crime Branch, and will be handed over to the CCB on Monday. We are waiting for the order from the Home Department,” the officer added.
The Anti-Terrorist Cell (ATC), which is investigating the case, will take necessary action, as they have been assigned the task of probing SDPI activities.It may be recalled that on December 22, 2019, Varun Bhopala (34), a resident of Sarakki in JP Nagar, was attacked while on his way to his father’s shop near JC Road after attending a pro-CAA event at Town Hall. Kalasipalya police had taken up the case soon after the incident came to light.