BENGALURU: Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge Tuesday said he’ll review Bengaluru police’s handling of anti-SIR protesters who were detained on Monday, when police forcibly removed demonstrators and manhandled journalists covering the action.“The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy. It must be respected, protected and never suppressed,” Kharge said in a post on X. “I have issued instructions to the police to ensure that no peaceful demonstration is disrupted,” he added.Late on Monday, chief minister DK Shivakumar, had posted on X asking Bengaluru police commissioner to “look into this and ensure that the right to peaceful protest is protected”.Kharge also appealed to protesters to cooperate with the police and inform authorities in advance to ensure their safety and protect the rights of others. “The police are here to protect your rights, not to stand in the way of your voice,” he said.The announcement comes after dozens of protesters, including students, lawyers, activists, academics and senior citizens, were detained near KR Circle as they sought to march to the chief electoral officer’s office. They were demanding that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls be scrapped and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign.The action also saw photojournalists covering the protest being assaulted and other journalists manhandled. Plainclothes personnel were among those seen acting aggressively towards protesters and journalists.An activist group, My Vote, My Right, said police confiscated placards and began detaining protesters before they could start the march. Its press release said people were pushed, dragged and forcibly taken away in buses. Police personnel were also seen beating young protesters and pulling at the clothes of women protesters, the group said.One photojournalist was beaten by four police personnel, while three other journalists were manhandled, according to the group.A photojournalist who witnessed the police action said an officer asked him to delete footage he had recorded of police assaulting students inside a bus. As journalists continued filming the detention of women protesters, police personnel objected.“One person came and said, delete it,” the photojournalist recounted. He said police personnel subsequently grabbed his phone, pushed him to the ground and threw the phone aside. Another officer pulled him by the collar, while personnel pushed him from behind and hit him on the leg. An officer also threatened to put him in jail.The incident had drawn criticism on social media, including from Arpita Das, associate professor of writing at Ashoka University, who said her daughter and a friend had been detained after joining the protest. She questioned why this was happening in a Congress-ruled state when young people were supporting the party’s position on SIR. Shivakumar’s X post was in response to Das’ post.The detentions in Bengaluru, incidentally happened on a day both Shivakumar and Kharge were protesting against SIR and police action against demonstrators in Delhi.On Monday, DCP (Central) Akshay M Hakay had said protesters had assembled near KR Circle without permission or prior intimation, contrary to high court directions that demonstrations be held at designated places. Police initially asked them to move to Freedom Park, but they did not comply and were taken into preventive custody before being released, he said.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
Hakay said police had acted with restraint and sensitivity. Acknowledging friction between police personnel and journalists, he described it as “completely unintentional” and said it had occurred in “straining circumstances”.Kharge Tuesday said: “Our responsibility is not merely to maintain law and order, but to create an environment where every citizen can express dissent freely, peacefully and without fear… In a democracy, peaceful dissent is not a threat to law and order. It is a right that law and order must protect,” he said.
