Bengaluru police register FIR over placards at student protest

Bengaluru City Police have registered a suo motu FIR against a woman who displayed placards reading “Umar Khalid Zindabad” and “Sharjeel Imam Zindabad” at a student protest.

The case concerns the Licensing and Regulation of Protests, Demonstrations and Protest Marches (Bengaluru City) Order, 2021, which requires protests, demonstrations and marches to be held at Freedom Park. The order was introduced after the High Court took up a suo motu public-interest case concerning demonstrations that disrupted traffic.

Police have also filed three suo motu FIRs against pro-Palestine demonstrators. The High Court of Karnataka has quashed two of those FIRs.

The 2021 order followed protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, including demonstrations outside Bilal Bagh mosque. Activists have argued that limiting protests to Freedom Park reduces their visibility.