As the row over students' donning of hijab in Karnataka colleges escalates, Muslim women protesting against the hijab ban were allegedly beaten by police personnel in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad on Sunday, 13 January.
A video of the incident, which took place in Khoda, shows police personnel lathi-charging the protesting women, many of whom are clad in hijab or burqa.
The police has said that it is investigating the video, reported NDTV.
Issuing a statement on the matter on Wednesday, the Ghaziabad Police has claimed that the protesters had no due permission for their demonstration, and that they had assaulted the police personnel who had reached the site of the agitation.
"Inspector-in-Charge of Khoda received information about demonstration by some people on Shani Bazar Road. On getting the information, Inspector-in-Charge of Khoda reached the spot and it was found that some women were protesting on the road. When the women police personnel asked about the permission to protest from the protesting women, no permission was shown by the protesting women, and the women police personnel and other policemen were assaulted by the protesting women and other persons present on the spot."Ghaziabad Police
A case has been registered at the Khoda police station on various charges including protesting without permission, beating police personnel on duty, obstructing government work. The matter is being probed further.
"During the investigation, a woman and a man were called on 15.02.22 at Khoda police station for interrogation after serving notices as per rules," the Ghaziabad Police has said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court is considering the petitions of Muslim girls against the denial of entry to hijab-wearing students in educational institutes. In an interim order, the court has said that no religious attire, including hijabs, may be permitted in schools and colleges till a judgment is passed.
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