The Independence-Day exodus from Bengaluru of people from the North-east continued on Thurs-day as 10,000 more floc-ked to the railway station to catch the next available train to their hometowns even as Karnataka law minister Suresh Kumar tried hard to convince them that they were in no danger in the city.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Pune on Thursday, as hundreds boarded the Howrah-bound Azad Hind Expre-ss following threats of more attacks. The Pune police has, however, app-ealed to them against lea-ving the city and has ass-ured them of their safety.
So afraid were the people in Bengaluru that they preferred to gather at the railway station rather than stay home in the city until their trains arrived. While a special train scheduled to depart at 8 pm was announced at 5 pm on Thursday, many took flights out of the city because they feared there might be danger enroute.
The police found manipulated MMSes and SMSes were feeding the panic, according to intelligence sources. Mr Suresh Kum-ar, too, confirmed that such messages, circulated by some mischief-makers, were responsible for the scare. “The police is investigating who’s beh-ind this and will nab those causing the panic,” he said. In his view, two things triggered the panicked exodus. One was the apprehension that Bengaluru and Hyder-abad could go the Mum-bai way, and the other was pressure from parents. “The huge student population of the city is giving in to pressure from parents and leaving,” the minister said.
In Pune the police arre-sted 13 persons in connection with an earlier attack on 12 students from the Northeast. “A major chunk of passengers heading back from Pune comprised the labo-ur class,” said Central Railway (Pune) PRO Y.K. Singh.
Not taking any chances, the Bengaluru police has appointed DCP (intelligence) V.S. D’Souza as the nodal officer to deal with the security of the people from the north-eastern states. Patrolling has been stepped up and temporary check-posts set up to strengthen security in areas like Vive-knagar, Koramangala, Shantinagar, Whitefield and Ashoknagar where they largely reside. Beng-aluru is home to about three lakh people from the Northeast, according to the police. Three new trains from Bengaluru were announced for Friday. Karnataka deputy CM R. Ashok held a meeting with the railways to review the situation and held talks with passengers with the help of a translator.