Mangaluru, Feb 15: A peace meeting was held at Udupi on Tuesday by district deputy commissioner M Kurma Rao to seek the support of students and the public to ensure smooth conduct of classes in the junior and degree colleges, set to reopen on Wednesday.

The pre-university and degree colleges will resume classes from Wednesday after a week-long holiday declared by the state government in the wake of troubles in campuses due to the hijab-saffron shawl controversy.

Leaders of political parties, student's organisations, religious leaders and other prominent persons attended the meeting.

The DC appealed to all sections of society to abide by the High Court's interim order not to wear any religious attire to educational institutions until the final judgement on the issue is pronounced. Leaders of all the organisations who attended the meeting agreed to maintain law and order.

Rao said prompt action will be taken if any attempt is made to disturb peace in the colleges in the district.

Udupi district superintendent of police N Vishnuvardhan said additional police force has been deployed to maintain law and order in the district. A total of 700 police personnel will be on duty, including those from the state reserve police, he said.

The district administration has clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC within 200-metre radius of all colleges and polytechnics in the district from 6 AM on February 16 to 6 PM on February 23 as a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward incident.

On January 1, six girl students of a college in Udupi attended a press conference held by Campus Front of India (CFI) in the coastal town protesting against the college authorities denying them entry into the classroom wearing Hijab.

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Shahjahanpur (UP) (PTI): Two persons have been detained after a clash broke out allegedly over remarks targeting a Dalit family's wedding procession in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district, police said on Saturday.

The incident occurred in Lai Kheda village under Tilhar police station area, where a wedding procession from Bareilly had arrived at a Dalit household on April 20.

According to SP Saurabh Dixit, when the procession was near the house of Rajpal Yadav, he allegedly made a remark saying "Now, Dalits will also take out wedding processions riding a buggy", leading to an argument. Yadav's side allegedly turned aggressive, escalating the conflict further.

Police said a scuffle ensued between the two sides. Upon receiving information, police personnel reached the spot and ensured that the procession was conducted peacefully after the incident.

An FIR was registered on Friday against Rajpal Yadav, Sumit, Amit, Surendra, Avdhesh Yadav and five unidentified persons based on a complaint. Rajpal Yadav and his son Sumit have been taken into custody and are being questioned, Dixit said.

The case has been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, police said.

Dixit said preliminary findings suggest that Yadav, too, was hosting a function and processions from both sides had arrived around the same time. A dispute may have initially arisen due to a narrow passage and attempts to move the processions quickly.

Police have registered the case under relevant sections of the BNS and initiated further probe, officials said.