Prohibitory orders under section 144 have been imposed in all high schools in Karnataka’s Udupi district amid the hijab controversy.
According to media reports, the prohibitory orders will be effective from 6 am on Monday, February 14 and will remain in force till 6 pm on Saturday, February 19. That is, till Saturday, the gathering and movement of everyone in the area around the high schools of the district has been banned.
Section 144 was imposed after the Superintendent of Police requested Kurma Rao, the Deputy Commissioner in Udupi. He requested that prohibitory orders be imposed within a radius of 200 meters around the high schools of the district. Earlier, authorities in Bengaluru had imposed prohibitory orders prohibiting any gathering around schools and colleges in the city.
Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was invoked around schools, PU colleges, degree colleges and other educational institutions in Bengaluru. The prohibitory orders will remain in effect till February 22.
The Karnataka hijab controversy erupted when a group of young Muslim students were denied entry to their college in Udupi district for wearing a hijab. The issue spread across the state as colleges and schools issued similar decrees. Anti-student groups started holding further protests against the right to wear the hijab in educational institutions.
Those protesting Muslim girls wore saffron scarfs and there were demonstrations in some areas. The controversy has escalated with national political parties attacking each other on the issue. The protests have now spread to different parts of the country and the matter is currently in the High Court.
