Video: Cops Hit Muslim Women With Sticks In Ghaziabad Over Hijab Protest

A video has emerged of policemen hitting Muslim women in burqa during a protest against the hijab ban in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad. The row over hijab ban in colleges that started in Karnataka, which is being heard in the high court, has seen sporadic protests in other states also.

After the video was shared widely on social media and some people criticised the police over the action, the police have said it is investigating the video.

A first information report, or FIR, has been filed by the police against the protesters over the incident that happened on Sunday last.

In the FIR, the police said they came to know some 15 Muslims women without taking permission had gathered in Ghaziabad's Sani Bazaar Road with anti-government posters. When a police team reached there, the women started shouting slogans, according to the FIR.

Women constables who tried to persuade the protesters to return home were heckled, and some men who were with the protesters also started abusing the constables, the FIR said. One of the accused has been identified as Raees, according to the police complaint, adding the men also threatened the constables.

Visuals show the policemen eventually using force to disperse the protesters. A woman in burqa is seen trying to stop a policeman from hitting her with a stick.

"The incident happened on Sunday. While our team was patrolling, they came to know about the protest by 10-15 women. The protesters were dispersed," a police officer at Ghaziabad's Indirapuram told reporters, adding the matter is under investigation.