Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jan 7: Dakshina Kannada district minority unit of JDS staged a protest in front of the office of the district deputy commissioner here on Friday January 6, against the suspension and transfer of police officials, who had taken timely action against those who had pelted stones at Sullia police station. The protestors also condemned the hoisting of Pakistani flag in the premises of the office of the tahsildar in Sidhagi in Bijapur district and urged for punishing the guilty.

In his introductory address, president of the unit, D M Aslam, said that in cases of police atrocities against minority community members, the affected had always resorted to democratic ways of protest. He pointed out that assault on policemen, pelting of stones at police station etc had never occurred in the district. He lamented that the incident had occurred in the native place of the Chief Minister.

JDS leader, M G Hegde, satirically advised Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader, Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, to denounce his Khaki shorts and instead, choose to wear shorts made to look like Pakistani flag. “The real colour of Sangh Parivar, which used to blame minorities for incidents like the one at Sindhagi, has been revealed. There is a need to entirely reinvestigate the case,” he felt.

JDS leaders, former zilla panchayat member, Aziz Malar, Shashiraj Shetty, J Mohammed, Muneer Mukkacheri, Ismail Manjanady and many others participated in the protest.

In a petition submitted to the Chief Minister through the deputy commissioner, the unit demanded to revoke suspension orders of policemen relating to Sullia incident, cancel their transfer orders, and take stern steps against the youth who had hoisted Pakistani flag at Sindhagi.