Two men have been arrested in Kundapur, Karnataka’s Udupi district, for carrying a deadly weapon while protesting at a government university over the right of students to wear headscarves in class.
The defendants – at least one of whom are repeat offenders – have been charged with attempted murder, rioting with a deadly weapon and criminal conspiracy. They were part of a group of five who roamed around the protest site on Friday and are not believed to be part of the student unrest.
“Two arrested, three absconded. We are trying to track them down. They have a knife, they are not locals. They are from Gangolli. They have been sent to judicial custody. The case is under investigation,” ST Siddalingappa, Ukrainian The additional SP of Dupi police told news agency ANI.
One of the accused was from a nearby village, police told NDTV. Police also said they were looking for three other defendants. It is unclear if they have any political affiliation.
Acting on information received upon arrival at the protest site, Kundapur police arrested two accused; the other three managed to flee the scene. The two arrested, Rajab, 41, and Abdul Majid, 32, have seven cases against him. The cases against the two were filed at the police station in Gangolli village, near Kundapur town.
Protests over the right to wear the hijab have increased among university students in the region over the past week, while other students wearing saffron scarves have sparked an ominous reaction.
Video from a protest scene in Kundapur on Saturday showed some students wearing scarves over their university uniforms and shouting “Jai Shri Ram” as they went to university. Other videos showed police dispersing a group of saffron protesters who had gathered near the market and shouted slogans.
On the same day, 40 hijab-clad schoolgirls protested in front of the gates of an arts and sciences college in Kundapur. College staff refused to let the girls on campus.
The students — aged between 18 and 20 who missed a second day in a row — demanded to know why their colleges banned hijabs when the rules didn’t.
40 Muslim male students protested in solidarity with their female classmates. The previous day, another university in Kundapur staged the same scene, with authorities announcing an overnight ban on hijabs after other students began wearing saffron shawls. To avoid community tension, Muslim students are being asked not to wear hijabs to class.
Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has said that students “should not wear hijabs or saffron scarves” in class.
The protests also sparked a political spat between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, with Rahul Gandhi accusing the former of “robbing India of her daughter’s future”.
Complete News Source : NDTV
