Hijab row: Police hold flag marches in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi districts

Mangaluru, Feb 12: The cops in twin districts Dakshina Kannada and Udupi held flag marches as part of preventive measures in the wake of the hijab row.

The cops marched on Friday evening at Puttur and Surathkal in Dakshina Kannada district.

The highly trained 97th Battalion Rapid Action Force (RAF) who handle law and order issues took part in the march with 130 personnel, Deputy Commissioner of Police Hariram Shankar said. He said the RAF, stationed at Panambur, will be pressed into action in the event of any law and order issue to ensure the safety of the public.

Udupi police also conducted a flag march on Friday at several places in the district, the epicentre of the hijab controversy. Flag marches were held in Udupi, Kaup, Kundapur, Karkala, Padubidri, Brahmavar, Byndoor and Shirva.

Udupi district Superintendent of Police N Vishnuvardhan said the safety of the public will be ensured and the route march is to instil confidence among the people.

The Hijab row started in December end when a few students started coming to the government pre-university college in Udupi wearing Hijab. To protest against it, some Hindu students turned up wearing saffron scarves.

The row spread to other educational institutions in different parts of the State, and the protests took a violent turn at some place earlier this week, prompting the government on Tuesday to declare three days holiday for the institutions.

On Thursday, the three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justices Krishna S Dixit and JM Khazi, adjourned the hearing for Monday on petitions challenging the State Govt rule on dress code in schools.

Meanwhile, Karnataka government announced that colleges will stay shut till Wednesday, February 16, as the high court will continue hearing petitions challenging the hijab ban. However, schools for classes 1-10 will reopen from Monday, February 14.