Bengaluru: Was there a conspiracy to embarrass the government and damage the brand image of Bengaluru as the country’s IT hub? The police are now looking at the conspiracy angle behind the large-scale violence on September 12 as mobs torched 78 vehicles and damaged 44 more. The violence left 57 people injured and two people were subsequently killed in police firing.

“We have registered 87 cases of arson, rioting, disruption of public order and destruction of public property among other sections of the Indian Penal Code in the city against 370 people, who were arrested from Bengaluru for alleged involvement in the violence on Monday. More than 600 people have been taken under preventive custody. We will investigate the conspiracy angle and based on the evidence, we will add suitable sections in the First Information Reports against the accused,” said an official source.

Of the 87 cases, 35 have been booked in Bengaluru West, 21 in South and North Bengaluru and the rest in Central and other parts of the city. Director General & Inspector General of Police Om Prakash confirmed that the police will investigate the “conspiracy angle” in Monday’s violence.

“Conspiracy angle will have to be probed. We need to know who these people are and whether there was a conspiracy behind the large-scale violence and destruction to public property. We will also investigate whether the accused owned allegiance to any groups and outfits,” he said.