Five more arrested for Azad Maidan violence in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Five more alleged rioters have been arrested in connection with the Azad Maidan violence here, taking the total number of arrests in the case so far to 48, police said today.

The five were apprehended from the city after they were clearly seen in the CCTV footages indulging in violence at Azad Maidan, police said, but did not divulge their names.

During the last two days, 19 people were arrested from various parts of the city, police said adding that two of them, identified as Niyazuddin Shaikh (28) and Mohammed Hussain Ansari (21), were produced before a metropolitan magistrate court yesterday which remanded them in police custody till August 28.

Two youths were killed and 52, including 44 policemen, injured on August 11 when a rally called to protest alleged atrocities on Muslims in Assam and Myanmar turned violent.

The protesters went on a rampage, attacking the police, including some women constables, torching media and police vehicles, smashing cameras of photo journalists and damaging buses.