Violence broke out in Bengaluru's sealed hotspot Padarayanapura on Sunday evening after rumors were spurred suggesting people were being taken away from the area for quarantine. The violence started with enraged youth mod in the area vandalized the barricades sealing exit from the area.
BBMP officials had come to Padarayanapura to take secondary contacts of those infected with coronavirus from the area into quarantine. In the current situation, the secondary contacts of COVID-19 patients are asked to remain in quarantine for 14 in their homes, but the decision to move them into quarantine facility came due to the densely populated locality.
Videos of the violent clash have gone viral on social media. However, the Bengaluru Police acted swiftly to bring the situation under control. DCP B Ramesh said strict action would be taken against everyone involved in the violent attack. The police are analyzing the video to identify the miscreants.
Witnesses from the area said the mobs vandalized shops and caused damage to property. But the police had to resort to lathi-charge in order to disperse the crowd and control the situation.
Watch the video of the violence below:
Few people in Padarayanapura in Bengaluru attack BBMP staff who had gone to quarantine secondary contacts.
— Nolan Pinto (@nolanentreeo) April 19, 2020
Police clearly outnumbered in the visual.@gauravcsawant@ShivAroor pic.twitter.com/DKgUQCoPLS
Jayanagar MLA Sowmya Reddy condemned the violence that took place in Padarayanapura. "I appeal to people everywhere to co-operate with the authorities. In this situation of emergency, we need to work together with complete cooperation - no acts of violence against functionaries of State / BBMP will be tolerated. I strongly condemn this attack on BBMP officials," Reddy said.
The local councilor, Imran Pasha, former MLA Gandhinagar Dinesh Gundu Rao and Congress leader BZ Zameer Ahmed haven't issued a statement about the violence.
