Dharwad (Karnataka), Dec 1 More than 35 job aspirants, including women, were detained on Monday after police dispersed a protest in Dharwad city demanding that the Congress-led government immediately fill over two lakh vacant posts.
The agitators, comprising young men and women, held a flash demonstration with banners and posters at Srinagar Circle, raising slogans and calling for urgent action on pending recruitments.
The protest was organised by Janasamanyara Vedike along with several other organisations, including groups representing job seekers.
Despite being denied permission by authorities, around 200 students and protestors assembled on Monday morning and later attempted to march towards the Deputy Commissioner’s office.
Police maintained that the protestors had not obtained permission to hold the demonstration. After issuing warnings, officers dragged several of them into an RTC bus and took them to an undisclosed location.
Hubballi–Dharwad Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar confirmed that permission for the protest had been denied.
"The organisers had sought permission for a large-scale protest but failed to provide complete details," he said.
"They said around 30,000 students would participate. Some PG students and those staying in libraries had spoken about holding an overnight dharna and even blocking junctions," he added.
The Commissioner said police repeatedly sought clarity from the organisers.
"We asked for details -- who is leading the protest, how many people will participate? Around 80,000 students reside in this area, along with schools, colleges and hospitals. Local residents are also present in large numbers," he noted.
Shashikumar emphasised that the dense student presence makes the area highly sensitive. “In such places, miscreants may take advantage of the situation. If anything goes wrong, it can lead to a law-and-order problem. For this reason, permission for the protest was not granted,” he said.
He added that organisers were warned in advance that any congregation would be considered unlawful. “If even one person commits a mistake, everyone will face the consequences. The government has already issued directions in this regard,” he said.
“There are several coaching centres along that route. To ensure the situation did not escalate, we took them into preventive custody,” he said.
A total of 35 people, including women job aspirants, were taken into custody as a precautionary measure, he confirmed.
Responding to allegations that the police were suppressing the protest, Shashikumar said: “There is no question of suppressing anyone. Everyone has equal rights to protest, but it must be done according to the rules.”
He also recalled that during previous demonstrations, some individuals had raised inappropriate slogans and blocked the busy Jubilee Circle, causing inconvenience to the public.
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