The Karnataka High Court has imposed a temporary ban on the wearing of all religious symbols in schools
Hazra Shifa, a student from Karnataka's Udupi and one of the petitioners in the hijab ban case, has alleged that her brother was attacked by a mob of right-wing supporters, linking the violence to her decision to continue to wear a hijab.
Her brother, Saif, was attacked at Bismillah hotel in Malpe, a port in Udupi district, at around 9 pm Monday night.
"My brother was brutally attacked by a mob. Just because I continue to stand for My #Hijab which is MY RIGHT. Our property were ruined as well. Why?? Can't I demand my right? Who will be their next victim? I demand action to be taken against the Sangh Parivar goons," she tweeted at midnight, tagging the Udupi police.
Police have registered a rioting case against three persons.
"There were around 20-30 persons. And most of them were known to the victim (Saif) and are his friends. The accused used to often visit Bismillah hotel owned by Saif's father," a police officer at the Malpe Police Station told NDTV.
"The trigger for the rioting was Saif's father reacting to the hijab row controversy and those wearing saffron shawls. This was a sting done by a local Kannada channel. His statements and the choice of words triggered the group, who then reached the hotel and pelted stones at Saif. Saif was slapped and beaten up by an accused in the gang. The group of people was in an inebriated state," the officer added.
The protests against Hijabs (headscarf) in Karnataka started late last year when school students were prevented from wearing it. It has since sparked protests and counter-demonstrations involving saffron scarves that have spread to other states as well.
In an attempt to calm tensions, Karnataka's state government had temporarily closed schools but they have gradually opened since.
Through an interim order, the Karnataka High Court has imposed a temporary ban on the wearing of all religious symbols in schools while it considers the headscarf ban.
The state government, defending its orders banning headscarves in classrooms, has told the Karnataka high court that wearing the hijab is not an essential religious practice of Islam and preventing it does not violate the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.