Hijab row: Section 144 imposed around schools in Udupi; BJP MLA says he gets threat calls

Mangaluru, Feb 13: The Udupi district administration has imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC in areas around all high schools in the district from Monday till February 19. The move comes as part of a precautionary measure as the schools are reopening Monday after the holiday declared by the state government in view of the hijab-saffron shawl controversy.

The order will be in effect from 6 AM on February 14 to 6 PM on February 19. The order has been clamped following a request by the district superintendent of police to deputy commissioner M Kurma Rao for imposing Section 144 within a 200-metre radius around all the high schools.

As per the order, assembly of five or more members around the school perimeter is not allowed. All sorts of gatherings including protests and rallies are banned. Inciting slogans, songs and speeches are strictly barred.

Meanwhile, Udupi BJP MLA K Raghupathi Bhat has said he has been receiving threat calls from unidentified persons after the hijab issue turned into a major controversy. Bhat, who is the president of the development committee of the pre-university college for women in Udupi where the hijab issue originated in Karnataka, told reporters in Udupi on Friday that most of the calls received by him were internet calls from foreign countries. T

he BJP MLA said the callers are issuing threats to his life which are not new to him. They have been warning that he will be targeted if he asserts himself more on the hijab issue. Bhat said he also received several calls from local numbers and has informed about the development to state Home Minister Araga Jnanendra.

The legislator said he has faced many such threats in the past also and is not scared of this development. He claimed that Muslims in Udupi are with him and the Qazis in the district have extended their support to him on the issue.

Bhat reiterated that the six girl students at the Udupi PU College in Udupi who insist on wearing hijabs in classroom were misguided by some elements.

To all the threats received through the phone, WhatsApp and Facebook, he has responded by discussing only the issue of uniform and discipline in the college, the MLA said.