Starting today, the crime branch will start detaining and questioning people involved in the violence at Azad Maidan on August 11. A rally organised by Muslim groups to protest against the treatment of Muslims in Assam and Myanmar turned violent when the mob assaulted policemen and media personnel, leaving 63 injured.

A crime branch officer told DNA that they have identified several people involved in the violence through photographs. “There are around 40-50 people who have been identified from different pockets of the city. We will start questioning them from Tuesday,” the officer said. He said they were waiting for Eid to get over as they did not want to hurt the religious sentiments of people.

The police have found that all five speeches made that day contained provocative messages. It was during the fifth speech that the mob resorted to violence. The police said they would show the video clippings of the speeches and take a legal opinion to decide on the course of action against the perpetrators.

Another crime branch officer said they were keeping a close watch on the rioters. People who took video clippings of the protest on their mobiles that day could also be booked.

“Several people were recording the vandalism on their mobiles, probably for fun. We are thinking of booking them for being part of the mob,” said a police officer privy to the investigation.

The police had sought video footages of the violence from television channels as well as CCTVs installed in the area. “As of now, only three people, including two students, have provided the clippings on their mobiles to the police. The clips are of vandalism near McDonald’s opposite CST. Since the three people approached us on their own, we will treat them as witnesses. The others will have to face police action,” the officer said.