Two Kashmiri street vendors on Wednesday were attacked by a group of men on a busy road in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow.
In a video of the incident which is going viral on social media, the two Kashmiri men were beaten with sticks, abused and slapped because of their identity.
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While one of them managed to escape the other Kashmiri was saved when a local interfered and stopped the men from attacking him. On being asked the reason for the assault the men replied,’ Kashmiri hai ye(He is a Kashmiri)’.
The Kashmiri man was also asked to show his Aadhaar cards.
Former CM of J&K, Omar Abdullah took to Twitter and tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, questioning their stance on the attacks on Kashmiris across India.
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? https://t.co/QyJKJ2i498
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 7, 2019
Jenab @rajnathsingh Sahib. You represent this constituency in the Lok Sabha, this is the constituency where Vajpayee Sb was elected from & went on to be PM. If no one else will step in & deliver justice can we expect you to punish those guilty of this assault? https://t.co/QyJKJ2zFxI
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 7, 2019
As the video went viral, a local resident, Bajrang Sonker, has been arrested for thrashing the Kashmiri street vendors, police said.
Circle officer of Mahanagar police station Santosh Singh said the incident happened at Daliganj bridge in Lucknow’s Hasanganj locality when the men selling dry fruits were attacked by the group.
Singh said the incident was reported to the local police after the video of the attack went viral on the social media late on Wednesday night. He said an FIR against unidentified men was registered in the matter who were then identified and one attacker, Sonker, was arrested.
Reports about the assault on Kashmiris have been reported from all over the country after the Pulwama terror attack.