​Priyank Kharge orders review of Bengaluru police handling of anti-SIR demonstrators

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday, October 13, said the Bengaluru police’s handling of anti-SIR protesters would be reviewed, after allegations that police personnel manhandled demonstrators and journalists.

“The handling of the protestors yesterday by Bengaluru Police will be reviewed,” Priyank Kharge said in a statement. He said the right to peaceful protest was fundamental to democracy and must be “respected, protected and never suppressed”.

“I have issued instructions to the police to ensure that no peaceful demonstration is disrupted,” he said, while appealing to protesters to cooperate with the police and inform authorities about their plans 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. 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,” Priyank said. “In a democracy, peaceful dissent is not a threat to law and order. It is a right that law and order must protect.”

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also responded to a woman who said her daughter and her daughter’s friend had been detained while participating in the anti-SIR protests in Bengaluru. Tagging Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Mallikarjun Kharge, she questioned why young people were being detained in a Congress-ruled state while supporting a cause the party had opposed nationally.

“Why is this happening in a Congress-ruled state even when the young step out in support of your cause? Please respond,” she wrote. Shivakumar tagged the Bengaluru City Police and said, “Please look into this and ensure that the right to peaceful protest is protected.”

The responses came after Bengaluru police detained protesters, including students, senior citizens, activists and lawyers, on Monday, October 12, before they could begin a march to the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office. They were demanding the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The protest was organised under the My Vote, My Right campaign, which has opposed the SIR since October 2025. Organisers alleged that police confiscated placards and pushed and dragged protesters into buses, beat young people and pulled at women’s clothes. Photojournalists Pushkar V of Deccan Herald and Syed Asif of The Times of India were also manhandled, with organisers saying three other journalists were also targeted.

Bengaluru City Police meanwhile said in a statement that protesters had assembled near KR Circle without permission or prior intimation, contrary to Karnataka High Court directions that demonstrations be held at designated locations. The police said the group was asked to move to Freedom Park but did not comply, following which protesters were taken into preventive custody and later released. “Police acted with due restraint and sensitivity in the prevailing circumstances,” the statement said.

The detentions came two days after police detained students from the All India Students’ Association at Freedom Park on October 10, as they prepared to march to the CEO’s office against the SIR. The students said they were detained before they could begin marching, while police maintained that they had attempted to move beyond the designated protest site.