Mumbai, Aug 28: One of the two alleged rioters, who had vandalized the iconic Amar Jawan memorial during the August 11 violence here, was today arrested, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 54, police said today.
“Abdul Quadir Mohammed Younus Ansari (19), an unemployed youth, was picked up from Sitamarhi in Bihar yesterday. Ansari, who had damaged the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial, was preparing to flee to Nepal by crossing the border when he was apprehended,” said Joint Police Commissioner (crime) Himanshu Roy.
Another accused Nazir Noor Mohammed (35), who had sustained bullet injury while clashing with policemen on the day of the violence, was nabbed after being discharged from the government-run J J hospital, police said.
Images of the two alleged rioters, including Ansari, were published in a tabloid while they were desecrating the memorial.
In the images, a furious Ansari was seen smashing the memorial with a bamboo.
“Ansari was brought here today and placed under arrest, following which he was produced before a local court which remanded him in police custody till September 4,” Roy added.
Ansari, who hails from Bihar, had fled to this state in a train after his photograph was published in the news paper, to evade arrest, police said.