Cops look for links to culprits in junked bikes

LUCKNOW: Among vital evidence and clues that could help police unravel the truth behind Kasganj communal violence and pin-point the guilty are 44 motorcycles that were abandoned after the outbreak of violence.
By scanning the videos and questioning those riding the first few motorcycles in the tiranga yatra, investigators would be able to establish who triggered the violence.The riders who abandoned the motorcycles after communal clashes broke out at Baddunagar on Republic Day are yet to be traced.
The questioning of owners of some two-wheelers had assisted police in zeroing in on the culprits known till now and identifying the trouble-mongers. Some of the bikes were being used by their owners but at least half of them had been borrowed by rally participants.
Kasganj SP Piyush Srivastava said, “The motorcycles show that the scale of violence was huge as so many people left behind their bikes. They have helped us in identifying the people responsible for violence from both sides. Probe is under way and we are tracing owners of remaining bikes. They could be from either side or simply passersby.”
The special investigation team probing the incident found that those at the forefront of rally faced the wrath of violence at Baddunagar and abandoned their vehicles at the spot.
“The motorcycles will help us know the key rally organisers,” said additional SP, Etah, Om Prakash Singh who is heading the SIT. One key rally organiser is on the run.
“We would soon be able to find out the miscreants who started violence. Every riot is started by a handful of people and mob joins in later. We will soon ascertain the sequence of events,” said Singh, who is coordinating with the transport department.