Udupi: Hazra Shifa, a student from Karnataka’s Udupi and a petitioner in hijab row has 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.
Saif, her brother, was attacked around 9 pm on Monday at the Bismillah hotel in Malpe.
Taking to Twitter she wrote, “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.
At Malpe Police Station, a police officer speaking with NDTV said that there were around 20 to 30 persons and most of them were known to the victim, and are his friends. The accused used to often visit the Bismillah hotel owned by Saif’s father.
“The trigger for the rioting was that Saif’s father reacting to the hijab row controversy and those wearing saffron shawls. This was a sting done by a local Kannada channel. His statements and the choice of words triggered the group, who then reached the hotel and pelted stones at Saif. Saif was slapped and beaten by an accused in the gang. The group of people were in an inebriated state,” the officer said.
A rioting case has been registered by the police against three people.
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