Ghaziabad Hijab Protest: Video Of Cops Hitting Women Emerges, Police Say Were Attacked First

Hijab Row: The incident took place on Sunday when a group of women held a protest in Khoda Colony against the hijab ban in colleges in Karnataka.

Ghaziabad police beating women wearing hijab with sticks (Screengrab from the video)

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing hijab controversy in Karnataka, a video has emerged of policemen hitting Muslim women in burqa during a protest in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad. However, Ghaziabad Police, in a statement, claimed that the protesters "attacked" the cops first.

The incident took place on Sunday when a group of women held a protest in Khoda Colony against the hijab ban in colleges in Karnataka. An FIR has been filed by the police against the protesters over the incident.

The video shows the policemen resorting to lathicharge to disperse the protesters. A burqa-clad woman is seen trying to stop a cop from hitting her with a stick.

After the video went viral, Ghaziabad Police issued a statement, saying the protesters attacked their team first and were holding a protest without permission.

ग़ाज़ियाबाद में बुर्के और हिजाब में प्रदर्शन कर रहीं मुस्लिम महिलाओं पर पुलिस के डंडे ,मामले की हो रही है जांच pic.twitter.com/sYggv2Ilaz

— Mukesh singh sengar मुकेश सिंह सेंगर (@mukeshmukeshs) February 16, 2022

"On Feb 13, the Inspector-in-charge received information about a demonstration by some people on Shani Bazar road. The team reached the spot and found women protesting on the road. When officials asked the protesters for permission, the women didn’t show the permission letter. They beat up the personnel present at the spot," the Ghaziabad police said in a tweet on Wednesday.

"A case was registered for protesting without permission, beating up policemen, obstructing police in their duty, hurling abuses etc. During the investigation, a man and a woman were called to the Khoda police station and we served them notice. The police action was taken on the basis of the offences. It has nothing to do with the subject matter of the protest or the reasons behind the protest," the tweet, in Hindi, further said.

pic.twitter.com/UUY2HkdvPG

— GHAZIABAD POLICE (@ghaziabadpolice) February 16, 2022

Police said 20 women were booked for carrying out the protest rally without permission and in violation of the Section 144 in force in the area.

The hijab controversy first erupted in January at a government PU College in Udupi, where six students who attended classes wearing headscarf were asked to leave the campus.