New Delhi: Three persons were arrested in Bihar’s Nawada district on Monday, July 15, after a video showed them waving a Palestinian flag, PTI quoted sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Pakribarawan, Mahesh Choudhary as saying.
The officer said the persons in question waved the flag ahead of Muharram in the Dhamaula area on Sunday.
“An investigation was immediately launched. On the basis of the investigation carried out by the local police, three persons were arrested on the charge of waving a Palestinian flag during the procession”, the SDPO said.
He went on to allege that the procession was taken out without mandatory permission from the authorities concerned. The Palestinian flag was immediately seized, Choudhary added.
On July 13, the Bihar Police had also booked two persons on the charge of waving the Palestinian flag at a procession ahead of Muharram in Bihar’s Darbhanga district.
In a similar incident, on July 9, a 20-year-old shopkeeper was arrested for allegedly waving the Palestinian flag at a Muharram procession in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi on Tuesday.
Although India historically stood with Palestine and supported its self-determination demand, the situation, however, has changed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi ascended to power in 2014. Police across Indian states, particularly BJP-ruled states, have largely criminalised pro-Palestine protests and have cracked down on them.
