Hijab row: Tension prevails at Uppinangady college

Mangaluru: Tension continued to prevail in the Government First Grade College, Uppinangady, over the hijab row, with a section of students supporting wearing the hijab in classrooms, staging a protest on Saturday.
Puttur MLA Sanjeeva Matandoor told TOI that regular classes were held on Saturday. “The College Development Committee (CDC) that met on Friday, has decided to follow the court orders with regard to the dress code. When on campus, the students must be in uniform. Girls can change their clothes in the restroom, and must enter classrooms in uniform. The lecturers have been given the responsibility to monitor the classes, and prevent any untoward incident from occurring on campus. A notice on the guidelines has been put up in the college,” he said
The MLA said that a few Muslim students staged a protest on Saturday. “Protesting is their right. But those who attend the protest will be marked absent. In case they prevent classes from being conducted, then legal action will be taken against them. The students have been directed to protest only outside the campus. Hence a few students protested outside the campus,” he said.
“We are confident that the issue will settle down soon. Education is important for students. The college authorities have been directed to have another round of talks with the parents. Parents will have to produce ID cards when arriving for the meeting. A few students who are instigated by certain organisations are protesting,” he said.
Meanwhile, the joint director of collegiate education will visit the campus on Monday. In a related development, it is learnt that a section of the students have submitted a letter to the MLA, stating that the principal was not implementing dress code rules strictly.
Journalists booked
for trespass
Students of Government First Grade College, Uppinangady, lodged a police complaint against three journalists, for trespassing on the campus on Friday.
Police said that II year BCom students at the college, lodged a complaint, that Ajith Kumar K, Praveen Kumar and Siddiq Neeraje, had trespassed upon the college campus at 11.30am on Thursday. The complainants alleged that Ajith and Praveen allegedly abused students, by calling out the name of their community.
The accused wanted to pull the shawl off a complainant. Ajith was shooting a video of students on the campus, and threatened to make the footage go viral, the students alleged. Students reported the incident to the principal. Following this, the principal summoned the trio, and made them delete the video footage. Later, the students learnt that the three were journalists. The students then lodged a complaint with the police, after discussing the issue with their parents, a day after the incident. Upinangady police have registered a case against the accused, under various IPC sections.
Meanwhile, journalists in Mangaluru staged a protest, and met Dakshina Kannada SP Rishikesh Sonawane on Saturday, to discuss the case booked against three journalists, based on a complaint by the students of the Government First Grade College, Uppinangady, on Friday.