BENGALURU: A special team went to Kerala on Saturday to nab former Bengaluru mayor Sampath Raj in the connection with the DJ Halli riots case while another searched his residence in Cox Town. The Central Crime Branch has formed four teams to nab Sampath Raj, who was discharged from a private hospital on October 25, and subsequently absconded.
On Saturday, CCB police also questioned some of Raj's relatives who helped him run away and recorded their statements, a senior CCB officer said. "Raj planned to escape from the city with his former driver and they hired a cab to leave the city. The involvement of hospital staff who intentionally discharged him at midnight also emerged during investigation.
Action will be taken against the hospital management. We tracked his phone call records after he absconded from the hospital. He will be arrested in a couple of days," the officer said. Sampath Raj is an accused in the riots that occurred in DJ Halli in Bengaluru on August 11. The police had also named him as an accused in the chargesheet submitted to the court in connection with the vandalism and arson of Pulakeshinagar MLA Akhanda Srinivasamurthy’s house during the violence.
The CCB police had previously questioned Raj for his alleged involvement in the DJ Halli riots. But when he was summoned for the second time, he skipped inquiry citing health reasons and was admitted to a private hospital. Raj was admitted to the same hospital four times claiming that he had Covid-19 symptoms.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said that Assistant Commissioner of Police Venugopal had served a notice to the hospital on October 7, directing it to inform them of the date of Raj's discharge. The CCB police have now issued notice to the hospital for not informing them about his discharge. Raj absconded after being discharged .