As widespread violence and arson took place in the name of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act last week across the country, police had to use innovative methods to catch the rioters. Police officials in Agra went undercover to find the perpetrators of violence who had taken shelter in the city after ransacking public property in neighbouring Firozabad. One police officer even disguised as a banana seller to hunt the rioters.

SHO of Mantola police station Jeetendra Kumar told media today that the police had received intelligence inputs about the presence of some people involved in Firozabad violence in Agra city. As it would have been difficult to obtain information about such people from civilians directly, it was decided to go undercover and track them down, he said. As part of the plan, sub-inspector Sunil Tomar of Mantola police station took the disguise of a vendor selling banana and roamed across the city. Intelligence reports had suggested that the perpetrators were hiding in the Mantola area in Agra.

The plan was to move around the city and locate the perpetrators. Sub Inspector Sunil Tomar shaved his moustache and arranged a fruit vendor’s cart. He loaded the cart with bananas and roamed in the Mantola area, looking for clues. Tomar said his disguise was so good that even the policemen patrolling the area could not identify him when they faced him. The SHO said that the plan worked and the rioters were arrested by the police.

Read- Firozabad anti-CAA riots: Drone camera identifies 57 houses with stones on their roof

Firozabad had witnessed violence in the name of anti-CAA protests after the Friday prayers last week. The rioters had set several vehicles on fire, including police vehicles. The protesters clashed with police, and several policemen were injured. Police had used tear-gas shells to disperse the mob.

Soon after the crash, several people involved in the violence had fled the city and took shelter in Agra, which is around 50 km away. But they were finally nabbed after the undercover operation of Agra police.