Two Men Found With Knives And Machetes Near Pro-Hijab Protest Site In Karnataka, Arrested

Near a protest site in Karnataka over government schools not allowing burqa-clad girls to attend classes, two men allegedly entered with sharp-edged weapons.

Identified as Mohammad Abdul Majeed, 32, and Mohammad Rajjab, 41, the men have been arrested, police told the media on Sunday.

The site was the government pre-university college in Kundapur area of Udipi district.

It is in Udupi that the ongoing protests over the Islamic veil first surfaced in the state.

In December, eight girls in the college began sporting the veil. The college management asked them to remove the veil inside the campus. The girls refused to comply, triggering a confrontation that continues till date.

As the college barred them from entering the campus, women students in other pre-university colleges in the state followed suit. As of now, such pro-veil agitations are being staged in at least five government educational institutes in Karnataka.

The Times of India has quoted “officials” from the police as saying the two men were carrying knives and machetes, and planned to mingle with the protesters in an attempt to fan unrest. The men came in a group of five, but only two could be caught as the rest fled the spot, police said.

Rajjab is a history sheeter, as per police.

Indian Express quoted the police as saying that both men hail from Gangolli village in Kundapur.

The men have been booked under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 143 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting), 308 (attempt to culpable homicide) and 149 (common object) by Kundapur police.

After the protest, students of Kundapur college as well as Bhandarkar college submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate's office requesting they be allowed to attend classes wearing the veil, said the Express report.

It is pertinent to mention that the protesting women began sporting the veil only in December, saying they were "unaware" until then that the institutes have no specific rule against the Islamic veil.

Two protesters told the media on camera that they wish to sport the veil as they are not allowed to expose their hair to men outside of their family as per their Islamic faith.