Mangaluru: Video shows Muslims protesting against Waqf law being ferried in police vehicle, police deny allegations
Recently, a video went viral on social media, allegedly showing the vehicle of a senior police officer ferrying protestors during the anti-Waqf Act protests being organised at Shah Garden Grounds near Adyar Kannur in Mangaluru, Karnataka on 18th April. The video was widely shared on social media, raising questions about the police for facilitating the protestors who blocked the National Highway-73 in Adyar, Kannur.
Refuting the allegations of the police vehicle being used to ferry protestors, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner, Anupam Agrawal, issued a clarification stating the police vehicle was not used for facilitating protestors but to carry an injured minor boy to the hospital.
Agrawal said that a 16-year-old boy was seriously injured by an overspeeding Tempo Traveller near Adyar Garden around 7:30 pm on the day of the protests. Meanwhile, the vehicle of the ACP traffic sub-division was passing from there, which was stopped by two on-duty women police officers and the boy’s associates to take him to a nearby private hospital.
He added that considering the condition of the injured boy and the heavy traffic jam in the area, the police officers promptly decided to use the police vehicle to take him for treatment. Later on, the driver of the Tempo Traveller was detained at the Mangaluru South Traffic police station, and a case was registered against him.
Anti-Waqf Act protesters unlawfully blocked the national highway
The Congress-ruled state witnessed a massive demonstration against the recently passed Waqf Act on 18th April. Lakhs of Muslim demonstrators gathered at Shah Garden Grounds in Mangaluru, under the leadership of the Ulema Coordination Committee, Karnataka. However, later on, some of the protestors deliberately gathered on the side and in the middle of NH-73 and blocked the free movement of the traffic. The protestors reportedly ignored the instructions of the officials to move away from the National Highway and continued to obstruct the movement of the traffic and the emergency services.
Subsequently, a case was filed by the police at Kankanady Town Police Station under sections 189(2), 126(2), 270, 324(4), 132, 285, and 190 of the BNS against the protestors including, Jaleel, a resident of Krishnapura, Fazal, a resident of Valachil and Mohammed Hanif Noufal. The police are trying to identify the other protestors using video footage.
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