News Desk |
A group of men in India had brutally beaten up two dry fruit vendors from Kashmir who were sitting on a busy road in Uttar Pradesh. One of the men had shared a video of the assault.
Yesterday, 6th March, the incident took place at 5 pm in Central Lucknow. In the video, the men, hailing from right-wing extremist group assaulted the traders and can be heard saying that they are doing it because they are from Kashmir.
The video features two men wearing saffron kurtas, who trashed the vendors sitting on the road with their dry fruits, spread out on a sheet. One of the attackers beat the men with a wooden stick. One of the Kashmiri men is seen pleading the attackers to stop beating him.
The former chief minister of Indian occupied Kashmir Omar Abdullah condemned the brutal act of extremists and tweeted: Nothing will do more damage to the idea of India in J&K than videos like these.
Another video shows the saffron-clad men asking the second dry fruit seller for his identity card. The Kashmiri men have been selling dry fruits in Lucknow for many years.
https://twitter.com/scribe_prashant/status/1103349763364159488
The police have registered a case of rioting and breach of the peace and one person has been arrested. Police officer said that “A case has been filed and search is on for the accused. An investigation will be done.”
The main accused, however who claims to be the president of the Vishwa Hindu Dal, has not been arrested and has been posting updates on Facebook. He had shared the video on Facebook but later took it down.
Read more: Kashmiris all over India fear for their lives after Pulwama attack
The former chief minister of Indian occupied Kashmir Omar Abdullah condemned the brutal act of extremists and tweeted: Nothing will do more damage to the idea of India in J&K than videos like these. Keep thrashing Kashmiris like this on the streets at the hands of RSS/Bajrang Dal goons & then try to sell the idea of “atoot ang”, it simply wont fly.
Nothing will do more damage to the idea of India in J&K than videos like these. Keep thrashing Kashmiris like this on the streets at the hands of RSS/Bajrang Dal goons & then try to sell the idea of “atoot ang”, it simply wont fly. https://t.co/MYkuEuDLjj
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 7, 2019
Mehbooba Mufti, a former chief minister of Indian Occupied Kashmir also reprimanded the government and said, “You humiliate & assault Kashmiris. Make them feel like criminals & that they don’t belong to this country. Why are you surprised then when young pliable men are taken under the wings of terror groups & indoctrinated?”
You humiliate & assault Kashmiris. Make them feel like criminals & that they dont belong to this country. Why are you surprised then when young pliable men are taken under the wings of terror groups & indoctrinated? https://t.co/0hLydjRP0Q
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) March 7, 2019
Kashmiris are being hounded & punished. The culprits here were clad in saffron kurtas & are from VHD. They have no fear & in fact uploaded the video on SM. GoIs conspicuous silence is actually a political tactic to encourage such elements & communalise the atmosphere until polls. https://t.co/PuSZsZyiyY
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) March 7, 2019
After the Pulwama terror attack, which claimed the life of over 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers, there have been numerous reports of people from Kashmir being targeted and harassed in various parts of the country. In Uttar Pradesh, two students had been publicly beaten and harassed by right-wing activists which had later turned out to not having been Kashmiris. Postwar hysteria, the BJP government is trying to cover up its embarrassment with mudslinging.