Pro-hijab protest in Malegaon: 4 organisers booked for violating prohibitory orders

Police in Nashik in Maharashtra on Friday registered a case in connection with a 'hijab' protest by over 5,000 women a day earlier in Malegaon, some 270 kilometres from here, an official said.

The women wearing hijab (Islamic headscarves) in support of students being denied this right in some colleges in Karnataka had gathered on Thursday at Kallu stadium in Pawarwadi on the call of the Jamiat-e-Ulema, he said.

"The women also submitted a memorandum to the Sub Divisional Police Officer claiming hijab was part of their culture. Since prohibitory orders were violated during the protest, four Jamiat-e-Ulema functionaries identified as Imtiyaz Ahmed Iqbal Ahmed, Abdul Malik, Mohammed Yasin and Mohammed Amin Mohammed Faruque have been booked," he said.

They have been charged under IPC sections 188, 269 and 270 and police have also issued notices to some more people in this connection, he added.

"Hijab Day has been organised in Malegaon on Friday, though the police have not given permission for any gathering. Strict vigil is in place in the township to maintain law and order," the official said.

Meanwhile, in Amravati district, some 660 kilometres from Mumbai, a group of 18 women and five men submitted a memorandum to the collector there in support of the right to wear the hijab, an official said.

Published on: Friday, February 11, 2022, 05:19 PM IST