Karnataka Hijab row: Student alleges brother attacked by right wing group

Bengaluru: Hazra Shifa, a student from Karnataka's Udupi and one of the petitioners in the hijab ban case, has alleged that her brother was assaulted by a mob of right-wing supporters and that a hotel owned by his father was also attacked, linking the violence to her decision to continue to wear a hijab, India Today reported.

Her brother, Saif, was attacked at Bismillah hotel in Malpe, a port in Udupi district, at around 9 pm Monday night.

"My brother was brutally attacked by a mob. Just because I continue to stand for My #Hijab which is MY RIGHT. Our property were 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, mentioning the Udupi police.

The protests against Hijabs (headscarf) in Karnataka began late last year when school students were not allowed to wear it. It has since triggered protests and counter-demonstrations involving saffron scarves that have spread to other parts of the country as well.

In a bid to control tensions, Karnataka's state government had temporarily closed schools but they have gradually opened since.

Through an interim order, the Karnataka High Court has imposed a temporary ban on the wearing of all religious symbols in schools while it considers the headscarf ban.

The state government, defending its orders banning headscarves in schools, has told the Karnataka high court that wearing the hijab is not an essential religious practice of Islam and preventing it does not offend the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.