Udupi: Mob attacks eatery run by hijab petitioner’s family, her brother injured

According to the police, around 50 people assaulted the petitioner's brother and pelted stones at the eatery.

The girl, an Udupi student, is one of the petitioners in the hijab case currently being heard by the Karnataka High Court. (Representational)

The Karnataka police have registered a case of rioting and causing hurt after a mob attacked the brother of one of the hijab petitioners and vandalised their eatery in Udupi on Monday night.

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According to the police, around 50 people barged into the eatery owned by the petitioner’s father around 9:30 pm, when they were closing up for the night. The mob assaulted the petitioner’s brother, heckled her father and pelted stones at the eatery, shattering its windowpanes, officers said. The Malpe police then rushed to the spot and defused the situation. The petitioner’s brother has been hospitalised. No one in the mob has been identified yet.

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A police source said probe has revealed that the man was targetted because he had attended a debate on the hijab issue in a regional news channel. The mob that attacked them questioned him about his statements during the debate. “We suspect a pro-Hindutva outfit attacked the hotel. No arrests have been made so far,” an officer said.

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The police have registered a case against the mob under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 143,145, 147, 323, 504 and 506.

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