New Delhi, March 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):Amidst the ongoing controversy over hijab in the Indian state of Karnataka, an FIR has been filed against a hijab wearing student of a Mangaluru college. The irony of the case is that she was subjected to harassment by some Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Prishad (ABVP) leaders for appearing for the examination even though she had taken permission from the college authorities.
A video of Hiba Sheikh, a second-year B. Sc. student at Dr P Dayananda Pai-P Sathisha Pai Government First-Grade College, being heckled by a group of students affiliated to the ABVP had gone viral.
Talking about the incident, Hiba said, “The principal gave us permission to write exam wearing a shawl and he asked us not to fix pins to it. The principal also has given us permission in writing. When we were taking the examination, a student identified with ABVP urged the principal to send us out from the hall. He, along with others, questioned us and asked us to go outside. Following this, the college authorities did not allow us to write the examination. Meanwhile, police also came to the campus, and they warned us that our future will be ruined”.
Following the incident of heckling, Hiba filed police complaints against those students at the Bunder Police Station. Mangaluru police filed an FIR against 15 ABVP members for physically harassing Hiba and abusing her. The ABVP members called her ‘anti-national’ and ‘terrorist’ and abused her religion.
Later, the police filed an FIR against Hiba and others on the basis of ABVP leader Kavana Shetty’s complaint. The FIR alleged that the girl student abused ABVP members and they received life-threatening messages. Reacting to the FIR against her, Hiba called it “illicit” and “baseless allegations”. She also clarified that ABVP leader Kavana was not in the video.
“This is illicit!! @compolmlr. It’s clearly visible that ABVP secretary Kavana Shetty was nowhere in the video. This F.I.R upon me and my innocent college mates is entirely a baseless allegation, because of being a woman they are trying to suppress our voice,” she said on her Twitter.
She said that she is being targeted because she demands her constitutional rights. “Just because I am asking my constitutional right, they tried suppressing me. Is it a crime to ask our rights? Even though I’ll get more hurdles ahead like these baseless allegations further, my demand for justice will not dislodge,” she added.
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