Amid the ongoing hijab proceedings in the Karnataka high court, the police in Udupi district filed an FIR under against a reporter for barging into a Muslim girl’s house in the name of a sting operation.
The complaint was filed under IPC section 448 against a reporter of Asianet Suvarna News. The complainant, a student by the name Aliya Assadi, stated that the reporter barged in her home and breached her privacy in the name of sting operation.
It is worth noting that Assadi is one of the six petitioners in the current high court case on the allowance of hijab in educational institutes.
Assadi, along with several other Muslim women were followed, and harassed by members of select media houses since the start of the high court proceedings vis-à-vis the hijab row.
Earlier, in another instance, a journalist followed a young, hijab clad girl persistently even as the girl started to run away from him. A video of the harassment went viral on social media and sparked outrage.
In the hopes of redressal, some of the victims have filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition before the Karnataka High Court against more than 60 media houses seeking directions to restrain them from chasing and videographing students and teachers who are on their way to schools and colleges wearing hijab.
Background of the hijab row:
The hijab controversy erupted and has been raging since January, after students of a pre-university college in Karnataka’s Udupi were prohibited from wearing headscarves (hijab), as part of their religious obligation, in the college premises. The issue blew up after Hindu students turned up to their colleges wearing saffron scarves in a protest against hijabi Muslims being allowed to wear headscarves.
The state was forced to form a committee to decide over the issue and prohibited the students from wearing any religious garment, including the hijab until a decision is reached.
However, a number of protests by saffron-clad students and Muslims around the state forced the state to shut down schools and colleges for a few days.
Currently, the Karnataka high court that is hearing a petition filed by a Hijab clad student of a PU college in Udupi, has provided no temporary relief to the students so far.
Educational institutions that were shut down by the state were directed to reopen ensuring that the state’s diktat, which prevents any religious garment from being worn to the institutions, is strictly adhered to.
The case in the high court is likely to conclude by the end of this week.
