Hyderabad Police have arrested a youth, Mohammed Zakir, for allegedly pulling down the Israeli national flag at Tank Bund, a symbolic act of solidarity with Palestine amid ongoing global outrage over Israel’s military actions in Gaza. The flag was one of many installed by the Telangana government to represent participating nations in the upcoming Miss World 2025 pageant, scheduled to take place on May 31 at Hyderabad’s HITEX Exhibition Centre.
The Saifabad Police Station registered two FIRs under Crime Numbers 138/2025 and 141/2025 against Zakir. Hyderabad City Police confirmed the arrest on Saturday, describing the act as one of “disrespect,” though they did not specify the flag involved in their official statement.
The incident comes amid intensifying calls on social media for the removal of the Israeli flag from public spaces, with users citing Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza as grounds for protest.
Since the escalation of violence in October 2024, Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported over 53,000 Palestinians killed and more than 120,000 injured. The territory’s Government Media Office places the death toll even higher—above 61,700—accounting for those still buried under rubble and presumed dead.
Globally, pro-Palestinian demonstrations have called for boycotts of Israeli products and denounced companies allegedly complicit in the violence. The arrest in Hyderabad adds to a growing list of actions by individuals and groups protesting what many are calling a genocide in Gaza. An investigation into the Tank Bund flag incident is ongoing.
