Udupi: Facebook case - Students led by ABVP gather in large numbers to protest
Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (EP)
Udupi, Jan 13: Nearly a thousand students from various colleges gathered at clock tower near service bus stand here on Monday January 13 in strong protest against the increasing number of crimes against women, particularly the recent case wherein a student was arrested for uploading pictures of a girl on Facebook.
The protest was organized and led by Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat (ABVP).
The protestors expressed anguish at the increasing number of crimes against female college students. Shashira H P, convener of ABVP, condemned the uncensored posters wishing good luck to Mohammed Yaseer who was arrested for uploading lewd photos of a girl in Facebook.
Lamenting that kidnapping, rape and missing cases of female students of one community by the students of another community have been increasing, the convener said, “Sale of drugs and ganja in the college campuses have increased. Cases of love Jihad have continued.
"There is no security for female students in college campuses. Though incidents such as these have continued, the authorities have not taken any action."
The protestors demanded that the accused be punished stringently after investigation without bowing for any political pressure. They also urged the concerned to ensure that incidents such as these do not reccur in the future and to provide ample security for female students. They threatened of strong nationwide protests if suitable action is not taken against the culprit.
The protest lasted for two hours, during which the students completely blocked the road and halted traffic. They demanded that SP Dr Boralingaiah come to the spot and speak to them.
The SP came at around 12 noon and assured the protestors that appropriate action will taken in the case as per law. He asked them to give police one month's time, to which the students agreed. They also demanded that rape charges be slapped against the accused and urged the police to investigate the love Jihad issue as alleged by some.
DySP Prabhudev Mane, inspector Maruti G Nayak, Dinesh Kumar, SI Madhu S, SI Jayant and other police personnel provided security at the spot.
Trouble outside college
It is said that three girl students who participated in the protest were on their way back to their college after the protest, when a group of boys, students of the same college, stopped them from entering the campus. The ABVP members too arrived in support of the girls and chaos prevailed for sometime between the two groups.
The police who received information rushed to the spot and dispersed the groups.
Security has been tightened in the area to prevent any untoward incident.