The arrest count in the Hubballi violence case has gone up to 134 with the police arresting several more on Thursday including three of the main accused in the case.
One among them is Waseem Pathan, whose video clip of addressing the mob standing atop a police vehicle had gone viral and he had been accused of “instigating” the mob, a charge denied by him.
Hours before the arrest, Mr. Pathan released a video pleading innocence in the case. He said that he had, contrary to claims in a section of the media, had gone to pacify the crowd. As there was no mike, he had to climb the police vehicle. In fact, as the crowd swelled, it was the police who had asked him to pacify the mob. “I never gave any provocative speech,” he said in the video.
