80 charged in Mumbai's Azad Maidan rioting case

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Mumbai Police on Friday formally charged 80 people for the rioting at an Azad Maidan rally Aug 11 that claimed two lives, an official said here.

Prominent Muslim religious leader and president of Ulema Board Maulana Athar and Islamic scholar and secretary of Raza Academy Saeed Noori, who had organised the Muslim procession and rally that day, have been named among those formally charged with rioting.

The charges are contained in a document running over 500 pages. It was filed before the Esplanade Court in south Mumbai. The riot left 52 injured, including 44 police personnel, said lawyer for one of the accused, Ansar Tamboli.

The charges slapped against some of the accused include criminal conspiracy and murder, besides damaging public properties, unlawful assembly and indulging in violence, according to Tamboli.

Police have arrested around 63 persons so far for their involvement in the riots that broke out during the Muslim procession called to condemn alleged atrocities on the minority community in Assam and Myanmar.

The attackers, who went berserk, attacked police personnel, molested some policewomen, pounced on mediapersons covering the procession and damaged their vehicles.