Police crack down on anti-SIR protesters in Bengaluru, detain 100
Bengaluru police detained approximately 100 protesters, including students and journalists, who were marching to the Chief Electoral Officer's office to protest the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Authorities defended the action by citing the use of a non-designated protest site and a lack of prior notification.
Why it matters
The incident highlights ongoing tensions regarding democratic protest rights and the transparency of electoral roll management in India.
Protesters who tried to march to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka’s office in Bengaluru on Monday, to condemn the Delhi Police’s treatment of demonstrators protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), faced similar heavy-handedness from the Bengaluru City Police, with at least 100 people detained, and students, lawyers, and women protesters allegedly manhandled.
Senior journalist and activist Aakar Patel was also detained. The police threatened journalists covering the protest and ordered them to leave the spot, while three photographers were manhandled, despite repeatedly identifying themselves as members of the Press.
Several protesters, most of them students, were forcibly pushed into buses by police personnel, many of whom were not in uniform. Male police personnel were seen forcing women protesters into buses, with the police arguing that the protesters would return to the spot if they were released.
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