Police use lathi-charge to break up students' protest against NEP

Hundreds of students and activists were baton-charged by police on Tuesday morning when they tried to enter the Vidhana Soudha to protest the National Education Policy (NEP).

Several protesters suffered injuries, including head wounds and fractures, and had to be hospitalised. More than 50 were detained by police but released in the evening.

Police justified the crackdown, saying the protest was “illegal” as the organisers hadn’t taken permission beforehand and also cited the prohibitory orders for the ongoing legislative session.

The protesters — numbering nearly 400 — had arrived from Tumakuru, Mysuru, Davangere, Mangaluru,Kalaburagi, Bidar and other parts of Karnataka under the banner of Campus Front of India. They held a demonstration near Mysore Bank Circle, calling the NEP an “RSS conspiracy”, before marching towards the seat of power.

Police, however, stopped them midway and asked them to disperse, citing prohibitory orders in force within a two-kilometre radius of the Vidhana Soudha. The students didn’t pay heed and tried to march on by slamming down the police barricades. Police then beat them with lathis, triggering a commotion.

At least one student was seen bleeding from the head while a few others suffered minor fractures, according to the organisers.

What police say

M N Anucheth, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), justified the baton-charge, saying the protesters had defied the prohibitory orders promulgated under IPC section 188.

“About 300-400 students tried to march into the building by damaging the barricades. We had to baton-charge them to control the situation,” he said, adding that the protesters didn’t have prior permission.

While police promised to register a case against the organisers for defying the prohibitory orders and Covid rules, an officer from the jurisdictional Halasuru Gate police station confirmed late on Tuesday night that no FIR had been registered as yet.

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