Surathkal tollgate protesters summoned to court following police charge sheet
Surathkal: Protesters who took part in the 2022 agitation demanding the closure of the Surathkal tollgate on National Highway 66 have been served court summonses on Monday. The move comes after the Surathkal Police filed a charge sheet against more than 100 individuals, including Toll Gate Protest Committee convener Muneer Katipalla and Karnataka Congress General Secretary Mithun Rai.
The organization advocating for the removal of the toll gate had orchestrated a direct action in 2022, resulting in hundreds of protesters besieging the Surathkal toll gate, surpassing police surveillance. Over 250 protesters were arrested, and cases were filed against 101 individuals under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Surathkal Police submitted the charge sheet in October 2023, citing the names of 101 protesters based on video footage of the protest. Katipalla expressed concern, stating that their organization had been categorized as anonymous protesters in the police case. He emphasized that the protest was non-violent and without fatalities, questioning the necessity of filing a charge sheet against 101 participants.
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Katipalla accused the police of acting under pressure from district MPs and legislators, anticipating the opening of nearly 10 toll gates in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts. He alleged that the police's actions were an attempt to thwart objections and protests against the toll gates.
Joint-convener of the protest committee, BK Imthiaz, echoed Katipalla's sentiments, accusing the police of working as puppets in the hands of BJP legislators. Despite Congress being in power, Imthiaz questioned the police's alignment with the BJP agenda.
The protesters summoned to court vowed to resist what they perceive as anti-citizen moves by those in power and expressed their commitment to continuing their cause.
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EC demands extra security as unrest grips Bangladesh afresh
Dhaka (PTI): The Election Commission (EC) has demanded extra security for its chief, other commissioners and officials as fresh unrest visibly gripped Bangladesh after gunmen shot an upcoming parliamentary polls candidate and frontline leader of last year's violent street movement dubbed 'July Uprising'.
"The EC has written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) urging comprehensive security arrangements for the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Election Commissioners (ECs), senior officials of the Election Commission Secretariat," the state-run BSS news agency reported on late Saturday.
The EC simultaneously sought the extra security for its field-level offices ahead of the 13th national election, as two of them came under attack in southeastern Lakshmipur and southwestern Pirojpur by unidentified miscreants after the announcement of the schedule for the upcoming polls on Thursday.
The commission demanded an additional escort vehicle for the CEC, while one such police escort with a vehicle was currently in place for him. It asked for round-the-clock police escorts for the four commissioners and the senior secretary.
The letter said the enhanced security measures were "urgent and necessary," while EC officials said their 10 regional offices, 64 district election offices and 522 sub-district level offices would store important documents and election materials.
The EC on Thursday said the upcoming parliamentary election would be held on February 12 next year, while a day later, Sharif Osman Hadi was shot from a close range in the head, critically wounding him, as he initiated his election campaign from a constituency in the capital.
Critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) simultaneously asked Muhammad Yunus' government to provide security for all candidates in the upcoming election after the attack on Hadi, who leads a radical right-wing cultural group called Inquiab Mancha.
"We demand that the real culprit be identified immediately and brought under the law, and we call upon this government to ensure the security of all candidates without delay," BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said.
Hadi was also a frontline leader of last year's student-led violent uprising that toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
His Inquilab Mancha was also at the forefront of a campaign to disband the Awami League, which the interim government complied with in May this year, disqualifying the party from contesting the polls.
The government on Saturday ordered a nationwide security clampdown called 'Operation Devil Hunt 2' amid escalated fears over the law and order situation and promised to issue firearms licenses for election candidates for their own security.
Home adviser (retd) Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the government had taken steps to ensure special security for the "frontline fighters" of the July Uprising and promised to issue firearms licenses for the election candidates.
He emphasised that the second phase of the 'Devil Hunt' was aimed at helping ensure public safety and combat the growing threat of illegal arms.
The operation was initially launched in February this year following protests over an attack on the private house of a former minister of the ousted government in the northern suburb of the capital, when it targeted alleged "henchmen" and supporters of the now disbanded Awami League.
