Pro-Palestine protest on MG Road: Case against 11, several others

Cubbon Park police in the central division on Tuesday registered a suo motu case against 11 people and several others for gathering on MG Road to pledge their solidarity with Palestine, even as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in West Asia rages on.

The FIR named Vinay Sreenivas of Bahutva Karnataka, Babu Prakash AS, Fahad Khan, Imran, Mohammed Ashwas, Syed Abbas, Leo John, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mahammad Ismail, Shoheb, Umar, and others.

They were booked under IPC sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation), 290 (punishment for public nuisance in cases not otherwise pro­vided for), 291 (continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue), and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence commit­ted in prosecution of common object).

"Despite informing them of the Karnataka High Court direction allowing protests and demonstrations only at Freedom Park, the large gathering stood on the MG Road footpath, hindered public movement and disobeyed the court ruling,” the FIR, accessed by DH, stated.

A senior police officer told DH that the suspects named in the FIR would be issued a notice, and investigations were on.

On Monday evening, the police detained some people who had gathered near the Rangoli Metro Art Center next to the MG Road metro station. But they were soon caught unawares as a large crowd gathered on the other side of the stretch.

Within minutes, the gathering covered the stretch with placards saying 'Stop the Genocide' and 'Gaza, We Are With You'. The police called in additional help to manage the crowd and the traffic during the peak hour, before the gathering dispersed around 6 pm.

Was a flash mob: Top cop

Bengaluru city police commissioner B Dayananda called the gathering a flash mob — a spontaneous assembly of people in public — and said that 25 people were held in preventive custody.  

"The crowd was mobilised mainly through WhatsApp," Dayananda said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

"Action was initiated since protests and demonstrations are not allowed in the city, except at Freedom Park, and as they did not seek any permission, caused nuisance to the public, and hindered traffic movement." 

The demonstration on MG Road on Monday. FILE PHOTO

The demonstration on MG Road on Monday. FILE PHOTO