Two Kashmiri street vendors were assaulted by a group of men belonging to Vishwa Hindu Dal, a right wing party, in a busy market area of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.
The incident happened, on the 6th of March, around 5:00 P.M., in Daliganj area of Lucknow, when a group of men came and started beating the Kashmiri vendors with a wooden stick. One of the men also recorded the incident and uploaded the video, which went viral on all the social media platforms.
The locals present at the spot intervened and rescued the vendors. The locals also asked the men not to take law into their hands and called the police.
The video, which went viral on social media, showed the two vendors, who were sitting on the roadside to sell dry fruits, when the alleged men, wearing saffron coloured kurtas, started beating them. The men asked for the identity of the vendors and assaulted one of the vendors with a wooden stick. In the video, the Kashmiri vendor, who was beaten, was covering his face and pleading the attackers to stop hitting him.
Another video of the same incident shows the second vendor packing up his dry fruits and trying to escape, when one of the members of the Vishwa Hindu Dal asked him for his identity.
In the video, it was also heard, the man belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Dal was saying, they attacked the 2 vendors because they are from Kashmir.
The incident was later reported at the Mahanagar Police Station, after the video went viral on social media. The police registered a case under breach of peace and arrested Bajrang Sonkar, one of the men from the Vishwa Hindu Dal, who was seen holding the wooden stick.
Santosh Singh, the Circle Officer of Mahanagar Police Station, 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.”
According to sources, Himanshu Awasthi, who claims he is the president of the Vishwa Hindu Dal, said, he is responsible for the attack and posted the videos on Facebook.
Though the police took down the posted videos, they did not arrest Awasthi.
Anand Kumar, the Director General (Law and Order) of Uttar Pradesh, addressed the media and said, “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.”
Omar Abdullah, the President of the National Conference, took to Twitter and condemned the assault on the Kashmiris.
Question for folks who argue that India is experiencing a Hindu renaissance under Modi. How do you square this thuggishness with the idea of cultural resurgence? Thanks. https://t.co/SkTNAqh90u
— Sadanand Dhume (@dhume) March 7, 2019
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
