Chaos prevails in Karnataka colleges as burqa-clad students denied entry citing high court order

Bengaluru, February 16

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Chaos prevailed in several pre-university colleges in Karnataka, which were opened on Wednesday after remaining shut for a week owing to the hijab row, as the burqa-clad Muslim students were not let in.

Amid tight security with policemen deployed in and around pre-university colleges at many sensitive places, the day saw a section of Muslim students remaining adamant not to remove the burqa, let alone hijab.

In Udupi district, pre-university and degree colleges reopened on Wednesday even as police are keeping a vigil around the colleges where prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been clamped.

The six Muslim girl students, who have moved the Karnataka High Court against a ban on hijab remained absent, principal of the government PU college for women at Udupi, Rudre Gowda, said.

Classes are being held smoothly at the college where other Muslim students removed hijabs before entering classrooms.

The 23 girl students who also insisted on wearing hijab at the government PU college at Kundapur in the district also kept away from classes on Wednesday. They were made to sit in a separate room last week when they refused to remove the headscarves before entering classes.

Classes did not resume at the MGM college, Manipal in Udupi, where chaotic scenes were witnessed last week with groups of students raising slogans against each other. The authorities had declared a holiday for the college on Wednesday.