Cops detain anti-SIR protesters, assault journalists in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: On a day Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar and home minister Priyank Kharge protested against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and police action against protesters in Delhi, police in Bengaluru detained dozens of protesters and assaulted photojournalists covering the action on Monday.Personnel in plain clothes were also seen acting aggressively towards protesters and journalists outside SJP college — opposite the chief electoral officer (CEO) office — which is within 1 km of Freedom Park, the designated protest site in Bengaluru.The protesters, including students, lawyers, activists and academics, had gathered to march to the chief electoral officer’s office to demand that SIR be scrapped and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign.However, police began detaining them before the march could begin, according to activist group My Vote, My Right. The group said police confiscated placards and detained people before they could begin the march.Protesters were pushed, dragged and forcibly taken away in buses. Police personnel were also seen beating young protesters and pulling at the clothes of women protesters, the group said. Advocate Vinay Sreenivasa told TOI: “They used force and detained several of us and released us at the CAR (city armed reserve) grounds. Clifton Rozario, the national general secretary of All India Lawyers Association for Justice, was assaulted.”Among others detained and later released were activist and author Aakar Patel, members of AILAJ, members of My Vote, My Right, a coalition of over 40 civil society organisations, including trade unions, women’s groups, and human rights organisations. Photojournalists covering the protest and police action were also targeted. One photojournalist was beaten by four police personnel, while three other journalists were manhandled, which protesters also confirmed.A photojournalist covering the incident said police assaulted a group of students and objected when journalists tried to record the action. When he continued filming, an officer told him to delete the footage.“One person came and said, delete it,” he recounted. As journalists continued recording the detention of women protesters, police personnel objected. A photojournalist was threatened and beaten, while another was pushed to the ground after police grabbed his phone and threw it aside. He was also pulled by the collar, pushed from behind and hit on the leg, according to his account. An officer threatened to put him in jail.The journalists were attempting to document police personnel pushing and pulling women protesters. The photojournalist said there were few women police personnel present as male officers handled the protesters.The protest was organised to condemn the police action against anti-SIR protesters in Delhi, where activists, lawyers, students and journalists have been detained during demonstrations demanding the scrapping of SIR and Kumar’s resignation.My Vote, My Right said it had been demanding the withdrawal of SIR since Oct 2025, arguing that the exercise could lead to mass disenfranchisement. It cited the deletion of names from electoral rolls and an Indian Express investigation into objections raised by two of the three Election Commissioners as reasons for continuing protests.The detentions in Bengaluru drew criticism on social media, including from people who said their family members had been taken away.“My daughter and her friend who went to join anti-SIR protests in Bangalore have just been detained. Why is this happening in a Congress-ruled state even when the young step out in support of your cause? Please respond,” Arpita Das, associate professor of writing at Ashoka University, posted on X, tagging Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Kharge.Prateek Waghre, sharing a video of the police action, questioned the Karnataka govt’s response to the protesters. “For all your posturing against RSS, your police is acting like it is administered by an RSS offshoot political party,” he posted, tagging Kharge.The activists demanded that SIR be scrapped and Kumar resign. They also said they had intended to submit a memorandum to the chief electoral officer. Police had not issued a response to the allegations of assault and manhandling at the time of writing.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.