Screen grab of the video (Twitter)One person has been arrested for allegedly beating a Kashmiri dry fruit seller in a busy street in central Lucknow’s Daliganj area. The arrest comes after a video of a group of Saffron-clad men beating the dry fruit seller went viral.
“A man was seen in a viral video thrashing a Kashmiri street vendor in Lucknow, the vendor was later saved by locals. The culprit Bajrang Sonkar has been arrested by police. Sonkar has criminal background and has 12 cases including a murder case against him,” said Kalanidhi Naithani, Senior Superintendent of Police.
Kashmiris have faced discrimination and assaults in several parts of the country following the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. In Uttarakhand, students were forced to leave college campuses. Two Dehradun-based educational institutions have said they will not admit Kashmiri students in future.
Reacting to the Lucknow incident, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, “Nothing will do more damage to the idea of India in J&K than videos like these. Keep thrashing Kashmiris like this on the streets at the hands of RSS/Bajrang Dal goons & then try to sell the idea of “atoot ang”, it simply wont fly. (sic)”
The National Conference leader also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi if there will be action in the case as “this is what you had spoken against and yet it continues unabated.”
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
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier denounced the attacks and said at a rally that “our fight is for Kashmir, not against Kashmiris”. The Supreme Court has also directed all chief secretaries and police chiefs to take “prompt action” to prevent incidents of “assault, threat, social boycott and such other egregious acts” against Kashmiris.
