A ‘peace protest’ against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) is set to take place in Mangaluru on January 4, two weeks after violence marred protests held in the city on December 19.
A delegation of various Muslim organisations led by the Muslim Central Committee, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, met Mangaluru Police Commissioner PS Harsha and Additional Director General of Police Dayananda on Thursday to discuss the fresh protest planned against the CAA and NRC.
The Muslim Central Committee is an umbrella body of several Muslim organisations in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. In a statement, the organization appealed to the public to refrain from spreading any inflammatory messages on social media or taking part in activities that disturb the peaceful protest.
A week ago, police firing led to the deaths of two people during violent anti-CAA protests in the city. Despite the loss of two members from their community, Muslim groups are planning to come out in numbers and peacefully protest on January 4.
“We lost two members from our community last week. But we still wanted to continue our protest against the CAA and NRC. We had immediately approached the Police Commissioner requesting them to allow us to stage a protest. We made it clear that as soon as the police give us a date, we will plan a protest,” a member of Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF) told TNM.
Last week, a curfew was imposed and mobile internet services were suspended in Dakshina Kannada district for 48 hours. The curfew was fully lifted only on Monday, three days after the violent protests.
The call for protests on December 19 was issued by the SKSSF. The organization obtained permission from the Mangaluru City Police to hold a protest from 2 pm to 3 pm outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office. A license for the use of loudspeakers at the protest was also sanctioned by the police. However, a day prior to the protest, prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC were imposed in Mangaluru. Section 144 bars the gathering of more than five people at a public place.
Defying the prohibitory orders on December 19, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the DC office in Mangaluru, prompting police to disperse them using lathi charge and tear gas. Police later opened fire on protesters gathered in Bunder amid incidents of stone pelting and arson. The police firing killed two people – Abdul Jaleel and Nausheen – who were daily wage labourers in Mangaluru.
Mohammed Nazeer, a relative of Abdul Jaleel, one of the victims, pointed out that peaceful protests were held elsewhere in the state and questioned why protests were not allowed in Mangaluru. “There was a major protest in Bengaluru and lakhs of people gathered. Not even a minor incident has happened under the leadership of the Police Commissioner of Bengaluru. Wasn't he successful? How come?” asked Nazeer.