'Hijab ban' case: K'taka student petitioner alleges brother was attacked, property damaged

Bengaluru: Hazra Shifa, a student from Udupi and one of the petitioners in the hijab ban case on Monday claimed that miscreants attacked and assaulted her brother and damaged their property in Malpe, Udupi District.

Taking to Twitter, Shifa alleged that her brother was attacked by a mob of right-wing supporters, linking the violence to her decision to continue to wear a hijab.

Her brother, Saif, was attacked at their father's 'Bismillah hotel' in Malpe, a port in Udupi district, at around 9 pm Monday night.

"My brother was brutally attacked by a mob. Just because I continue to stand for My #Hijab which is MY RIGHT. Our property was ruined as well. Why?? Can't I demand my right? Who will be their next victim? I demand action to be taken against the Sangh Parivar goons," she tweeted at midnight, tagging the Udupi police.

My brother was brutally attacked by a mob. Just because I continue to stand for My #Hijab which is MY RIGHT. Our property were ruined as well. Why?? Can't I demand my right? Who will be their next victim? I demand action to be taken against the Sangh Parivar goons. @UdupiPolice

— Hazra Shifa (@hazra_shifa) February 21, 2022

Saif (20) is reportedly being treated at a private hospital in Udupi after the attack.

As per reports about 70-100 people barged into the petitioner's father's hotel in Malpe market and pelted stones at the property. The attack has incurred losses to the property with several glasses and other valuables damaged.

The protests against Hijabs (headscarf) in Karnataka started late last year when school students were prevented from wearing them. It has since sparked protests and counter-demonstrations involving saffron scarves that have spread to other states as well.

In an attempt to calm tensions, Karnataka's state government had temporarily closed schools but they have gradually opened since.

Through an interim order, the Karnataka High Court has imposed a temporary ban on the wearing of all religious symbols in schools while it considers the headscarf ban.

The state government, defending its orders banning headscarves in classrooms, has told the Karnataka high court that wearing the hijab is not an essential religious practice of Islam and preventing it does not violate the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.