Bengaluru: Just three days after Bengaluru became the new JNU with a controversy surrounding anti-India sloganeering, the Tumakuru police booked a 22-year-old engineering student for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans during a birthday party on the intervening night of August 14 and 15 at the Sri Siddhartha Institute of Technology hostel.
The third year student of Mechanical Engineering, Praveen Kumar Singh, who hails from Bihar, has been detained for questioning. It is said that three students – Praveen, Danish Ahmed and Amit Singh – were celebrating a birthday of one of their friends at the hostel on Sunday night and wanted to step out of the hostel. But the watchman did not allow them.
Heated arguments ensued and Praveen hurled abuses at the watchman and then allegedly started shouting pro-Pakistan slogans. Praveen also threatened the watchman saying that he was a Rajput, and his grandfather worked in the Army and had a gun at home which he would bring and shoot the watchman dead.
Meanwhile in Bengaluru, ABVP activists held a massive protest demanding the immediate arrest of representatives of the Amnesty International India (AII) who organised Broken Families event, the participants who shouted anti-India slogans, and action against the authorities of United Theological College, where the event was held on Saturday.
Around 1,000 agitators moved towards the Police Commissioner’s office and were stopped at Raj Bhavan, leading to a heated argument between the police and protesters. The police allegedly manhandled the agitators and detained 15 of them, who were released later.
The J.C. Nagar police investigating Saturday's incident questioned several representatives of the NGO on Tuesday. Also, AII issued a clarification, rubbishing the charges leveled by the ABVP, a day after an FIR was registered against its representatives.
Tumakuru student booked for raising pro-Pak slogans
“The complaint was lodged by the college hostel warden Muralidhar at the Sadashivanagara police outpost on Tuesday early morning,” B.T. Chidananda Swamy, DySP, told this newspaper.
According to police sources, three students Praveen Kumar Singh, Danish Ahmed and Amit Singh was celebrating a birthday party of one of their friends at the hostel on the night of August 14.
They wanted to step out of the hostel, but the hostel watchman did not permit them. Heated arguments ensued between the students and the watchman and in the meantime Praveen Kumar Singh hurled abuses at the watchman and then allegedly started shouting pro-Pakistan slogans. Singh also threatened the watchman stating that he was a Rajput by clan, and his grandfather worked in the Indian Army and had a gun at home, sources stated.
The watchman complained about the incident to the hostel warden, who later registered a police case, after Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Bhagat Kranti Sene, a local self-styled patriotic group staged a protest before the college and demanded action against the ‘north’ Indian students, sources added.
“Although we have registered a case under IPC section 153-B, there are no material evidences such as CCTV footage, audio or video recording of the incident,” said a senior police officer adding “the police was informed only after 24 hours of the incident and the complaint was lodged on Tuesday early morning,’’ the senior police officer added.
ABVP protesters clash with police
A protest by members of the Akhil Bharat Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), demanding the immediate arrest of those who shouted anti-national slogans and the organisers of Broken Families event on Saturday, turned ugly when the activists tried to enter the Police Commissioner’s office and were allegedly stopped and manhandled by policemen.
Demanding the arrest of Amnesty International India’s representatives, who organised Saturday’s event, and banning of the NGO, over 1,000 activists took out a rally from Basaveshwara Circle around 11 am on Tuesday.
When the rally reached near Raj Bhavan, the police stopped the protesters, which led to a heated argument between the agitators and the policemen. Though the police requested them to stop the rally, the agitators refused and tried to march towards the police commissioner’s officer.
The policemen, including DCP (Central) Sandeep Patil, allegedly manhandled some of the activists and also resorted to a mild lathi-charge. The police detained 15 activists, while the other agitators protested near the Raj Bhavan demanding their immediate release.
Later, some of the activists were allowed to go to the police commissioner’s office, where Commissioner N.S. Megharikh came out of his chambers and received a petition.
