Bengaluru: The State High Court has granted default bail to 115 people arrested over the East Bengaluru riots last year.
The high court set aside the special court’s order giving the National Investigation Agency (NIA) an additional 90 days for completing the investigation.
The arrests were made on August 12, 2020, and the statutory period of 90 days ended on November 9, 2020. Again, on November 3, the NIA moved the special court with an application for extension and the extension was granted. In January 2021, the special court denied them bail. Following this, the accused appealed to the high court and the NIA counsel in the HC submitted that the accused would have to apply for regular bail.
Quoting a Supreme Court order, Justice Vishwajit Shetty stated that the accused must be informed if an application for extending time to carry out investigation is filed and thus, granted the petitioners bail.
It can be recalled here that the violence was triggered by a Facebook post uploaded by a nephew of Pulakeshinagar MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy on August 11, 2020. The mob had torched Murthy’s house and police stations. Subsequently, the police arrested many under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Later, the NIA later took over the probe.
