Karnataka Seeks Review of Bengaluru Protest Detentions

Karnataka Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar has sought a report on Bengaluru police’s detention of anti-SIR protesters and said accountability would follow if a review finds unnecessary force or excess. The detentions took place on October 12 as demonstrators tried to march toward an election office. Police said the protesters had gathered near K. R. Circle without permission and refused instructions to move to Freedom Park, the designated protest site. Deputy Commissioner of Police Akshay M. Hakay said they were taken into preventive custody under rules governing demonstrations. Reports put the number detained that day at about 100 or more. Shivakumar said peaceful protest was a fundamental right and that the state could not demand that right for demonstrators in Delhi while denying it to people in Bengaluru. On October 13, Home Minister Priyank Kharge said the handling of the protest would be reviewed and instructed police not to disrupt peaceful demonstrations. He also urged protesters to keep authorities informed and cooperate with police. Some protesters and journalists alleged that officers used force during the detentions.