No racism but local dispute involved in attack on Kashmiris: Delhi Police

Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik on Saturday told Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba that the alleged attack on a group of Kashmiris in the national capital involved a local issue and had nothing to do with their origin, an officer said.

“During a briefing, Amulya Patnaik told Gauba that the incident was triggered by a dispute over feeding stray dogs in Sunlight Colony’s Siddhartha Enclave on Thursday night, following which four women and a youth from Kashmir were allegedly beaten up by a mob of 30-40 people,” the officer said.

“Patnaik told Gauba that the complainant is an avid dog lover and animal rights activist. There have been more than 50 complaints and counter complaints against the residents of Siddhartha Enclave and the complainant on the issue of feeding stray dogs. Based on CCTV footage, four people have been arrested so far.”

On Friday, Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmoy Biswal had said: “We have registered a case on charges of sexual harassment, making sexually-coloured remarks, criminal intimidation and using words and acts intended to insult the modesty of women against the accused.”

Earlier, a Kashmiri man living in Sunlight Colony had in his complaint accused a group of residents of carrying out a planned attack on him and four women, including his sister, while they were walking in the street after dinner on Thursday night.

“A group of 40 residents of the area attacked the women. When the women asked the reason, the accused abused them and shouted slogans like ‘Kashmiri terrorists should be sent back from India’,” the complainant said.

“When I came to my sister’s rescue, some people carrying hockey sticks attacked me. I suffered a fracture in hand,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday spoke to her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal about the alleged assault.

An official at the Delhi chief minister’s office said that during a telephonic conversation, Kejriwal told Mufti that in the national capital, law and order, and police come directly under Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Kejriwal assured Mufti that he would convey her concern to Singh. He told her that he would write to Lt Governor Anil Baijal, who is in charge of police, to ensure the safety of Kashmiris in Delhi.