City Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma on Monday informed that as many as 25 people have been arrested so far, in connection with the recent incidents of communal violence that occurred in different parts of the city.
Talking to reporters here, the Commissioner said that eight people have been arrested in Gandhi Nagar and Musheerabad areas each, and nine arrests have been made in the Mangalghaat locality. He did not rule out the arrest of more persons for their alleged involvement in the incidents.
Regarding the incidents of thefts in Old City temples, Anurag Sharma said that a professional gang could have a hand in the incidents. Stating that the police teams have picked up some suspects known for a modus operandi of temple thefts, he expressed the hope that the cases would be solved soon. However, he completely ruled out a communal angle to burglaries at the temples.
The Commissioner also admitted that there was a slight decrease in the numbers of police pickets in the city as they were deployed in community-sensitive areas in the view of Bakrid and Dussera. However, he said that patrolling was being done properly in the entire city. He claimed that a Rakshak vehicle had crossed the Mahankali Temple at Uppuguda about 20 minutes before the burglary took place. (INN)