Mangalore: Cops thwart protest, arrest two victims, activists

Bellevision Media Network

Mangalore, 17 Aug 2012: Mangalore City Police on Thursday arrested victims of Morning Mist Home Stay attack and others for holding a protest in front of the deputy commissioner’s office without obtaining prior permission from police.

 

The victims - Vijaya Kumar and Gurudath Kamath - were arrested along with Jaago Mangalore Association (JMA) chief coordinator Vijayanath Shetty and advocate Dinesh Hegde Ulepady when they were about to start their protest against the homestay attack.

 

The protest was part of ’Let’s make Mangalore a better place to live’, a six-day long mass movement against the Padil attack.
Advocate Dinesh Ulepady said that they had sought permission to hold the agitation near the deputy commissioner’s office.
"The jurisdictional police authorities had denied us the permission without any reason. This is a democratic country and we have all the rights to hold the protest. It is condemnable to deny permission without reason," Ulepady added.

 

 

"Our aim is to make Mangalore a better place to live. We condemn the unprovoked attack on teenaged boys and girls in Padil, which is a deplorable blot on democratic values enshrined in the Constitution," said Vijayanath Shetty.

 

JMA had plans to hold an agitation with candlelight protest and display of video clippings of messages by eminent people through LCD screen. Road shows were also planned at various junctions in the city every day till August 21.

 

City police chief Seemant Kumar Singh said the protesters had not taken prior permission from the jurisdictional police station.
"It is immaterial that there are no prohibitory orders clamped under Section 144 of CrPC, but any individual or organization wanting to stage a protest must give prior information and seek prior permission from the police station before holding the protest," he said.