KOLKATA: In a horrific incident, a Kashmiri shawl seller was attacked with sword and deprived of almost Rs 2 lakh by a gang of Hindu extremists in Kolkata city of the eastern Indian state, West Bengal.
Shakoor Ahmad Shah, hailing from Budgam district of occupied Kashmir, was returning from Sealdah to his rented accommodation in Jadavpur when he was intercepted by some persons near Park Circus railway station in the city.
Taking to media, Shakoor said that he left his room to collect money from customers and dealers. “We work here mostly in winters and return in summers. This is the season when shawl sellers stop their business of selling shawls and start collecting dues from dealers and customers,” he said.
Shakoor said he boarded a local train from Sealdah in the evening and got down at Park Circus railway station to collect money from a customer there.
“At about 6:45 pm the train reached Park Circus railway station. I got down and was walking on a bridge beside the railway track when four persons intercepted me,” Shakoor narrated.
“The men abused me and then assaulted me. When I showed some resistance, they took out a sword and attacked me with it from left and right, till I fell on the ground. Then they stole my bag containing Rs 1,95,000 in cash and also a few important documents,” he said.
“I was screaming in pain but no one came to my rescue,” he added.
He was evacuated by a fellow Kashmiri shawl seller, Ajaz Ahmad Dar. “It took me almost 45 minutes to reach there. Till then he was lying unattended,” Ajaz said. “I somehow managed to get an auto rickshaw and took him to a hospital.”
Ajaz said that doctors at the hospital say that a sword was pushed into Shakoor’s abdomen and his intestines may have been damaged.
Earlier, a Kashmiri shawl vender, Javaid Ahmad Khan of Soibug Budgam, was also attacked by a Hindu gang in West Bengal, India.
