Two dry fruit vendors from Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) who were sitting on a busy road in Indian Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow were attacked by a group of men belonging to a fringe right-wing group. One of the men had shared a video of the assault. One person has been arrested, reported NDTV.
The incident took place at around 5 pm on Wednesday in Daliganj in central Lucknow. The men who assaulted the traders can be heard in widely-circulated videos saying that are doing it because they are from Kashmir.
Videos show two men in saffron kurtas thrashing the two vendors who were sitting on the road with their dry fruits spread out on a sheet. One of the attackers beat the men with a wooden stick. In one of the videos, one of the Kashmiri men is seen covering his head and pleading the attackers to stop beating him.
Another video shows the saffron-clad men asking the second dry fruit seller for his identity card as he tried to pack up and leave the spot.
Several local residents of Lucknow intervened and asked the men to stop the further assault of the two vendors. “Don’t take law into your own hands. Call the police,” one the locals can be seen saying.
The Kashmiri men have been selling dry fruits in Lucknow for many years.
A case of rioting and breach of the peace has been registered and one person, Bajrang Sonkar, has been arrested, the police said.
However, the main accused, who claims to be the president of the Vishwa Hindu Dal, has not been arrested and has been posting on Facebook, claiming that it was he and his men who carried out the attack. The video of the attack that he shared on Facebook has been taken down.
“This is a very unfortunate and one-off incident which has happened. We will crack down on such incidents with the entire force of the law. Nobody is above the law and nobody can target innocent citizens like this… The strongest possible action will be taken to target innocent Kashmiris,” Uttar Pradesh Director General (Law and Order) Anand Kumar told NDTV.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter and wrote: “Dear PM @narendramodi Sahib, this is what you had spoken against & yet it continues unabated. This is the state governed by your handpicked Chief Minister. Can we expect action in this case or do we file your concern & assurances as a jumla, meant to placate but nothing more? (sic)”
Since the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama in which over 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers were killed, there have been numerous reports of people from IOK being targeted and harassed in various parts of the country. The alleged harassment had promoted the central government to issue an advisory to the states to ensure their safety.