Bengaluru: Hundreds defy section 144 to protest against CAA

Among them were author and historian Ramachandra Guha, Congress MLA from Shivajinagar Rizwan Arshad, students from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), National Law School of India University (NLSIU), other prominent private colleges in the city, students representing various political organisations, including All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO), National Students Union of India (Karnataka), and like-minded citizens from different age groups who arrived in small groups for the protests.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said he instructed police to exercise restraint while handling agitations and alleged that Congress was behind the protests. (Source: Ralph Alex Arakal)

Minutes before his detention, Guha said, “The police are acting at the behest of their colonial masters and I feel sorry for them. We can see ordinary citizens protesting here in a peaceful manner.”

Criticising the Centre, he added, “Our paranoid rulers in Delhi are scared. Our (Union) Home Minister would not dare allow a peaceful protest.”

Meanwhile, former Public Prosecutor of Karnataka B T Venkatesh, who was offering legal help to those detained, told Indianexpress.com, “Ordinary citizens are making a statement by hitting the streets to protest even on a day when prohibitory orders are in place. Nobody can kill the secular fabric of this country.”

Jayanagar MLA Sowmya Reddy said, “People have been protesting since the Bill on Citizenship Amendment was tabled. Each citizen of India has a right to protest. While the protests in Bengaluru Town Hall was already planned and permission was sought for the same, the government has tried to infringe that by announcing prohibitory orders.”

Prominent citizens hit the streets in Bengaluru alongside students, activists and the general public to oppose the contentious law. (Source: Ralph Alex Arakal)

At the same time, some protesters who were picked by the police next to Town Hall, joined the protests back within an hour after they were released next to Shantinagar. “The police let us out of the bus as they wanted the same bus, which was full by then, to pick protesters from Mysore Bank Circle. Thanks to Bengaluru traffic, we decided to walk back to the protests to further express our dissent,” a protester from Bangalore University said.

By noon, more marches were carried out from different parts of the city to Town Hall premises and Mysore Bank Circle as police tried barricading the area to prevent people from gathering.

However, more police personnel were also deployed in the areas, as a precautionary measure, according to DCP (Bengaluru Central) Chetan Singh Rathore. Top cops, including DCP Rathore, Joint Commissioner (Traffic) B R Ravikanthe Gowda and others spoke to various representatives of protesters requesting them to disperse.

(Source: Ralph Alex Arakal)

The police were also seen promising protesters that their counterparts who were detained would be released soon.

Meanwhile, Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa appealed to all political parties, leaders, and protesters to maintain calm on the CAA issue and directed the police ‘not to take law in their own hands.’

Speaking to mediapersons after about 200 people were dragged and forcibly detained by the police for defying prohibitory orders, Yediyurappa added, “I have directed the police to take action only against those trying to create a law and order problem. No action should be taken against others. If any police officer is found doing so, I will initiate action against them.”

(Source: Ralph Alex Arakal)

Protests continued in Town Hall area till around 4.30 pm after which the crowd dispersed, helping traffic cops in the area to restore traffic movement completely.