Ragigudda Metro Station in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
The South Division Police in Bengaluru, as part of prevention measures, detained as many as 10 members of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Chintakara Okkuta before they planned to stage a protest at Ragigudda metro station demanding that it be renamed as Marenahalli station.
The area where the station has been constructed is situated in Marenahalli and not Ragigudda which is around half a kilometre away from the station. Though Ragigudda is already famous for many things, the residents wanted the name of the station as Marenahalli which has a history of 400 years, named after Salammadevi, said Manikantha B, member of the Okkuta.
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The members gave a petition to the government in 2020 but due to pressure from local politicians, the station has been named as Ragigudda. “We wanted at least the government to consider our demand and name it Marenahalli-Ragigudda station,” the members demanded.
The police swoop down on Saturday night (August 9, 2025) and detained the members on the pretext of speaking to them and seized materials including banners, handbills and copies of the petition.
“We do not want to disrupt the inauguration but wanted to convey our concern which has not been considered since three years despite repeated attempts,” the members said.
The members were detained and taken to JP Nagar, Siddapura, before being taken to Hanumantha Nagar police station.
The Bengaluru police also rounded up all members of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress, from across the city and kept them under house arrest on August 9 evening. With PM Modi’s visit to the city coming just days after the allegations of ‘vote theft’ by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the police feared protests by the student activists.
Published – August 10, 2025 01:29 pm IST
