2 Kashmiri vendors beaten up in Lucknow; 1 arrested
Lucknow, Mar 07: A group of men thrashed two Kashmiri roadside vendors in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow on Wednesday, in a latest attack against Kashmiris post-Pulwama terror attack.
The incident took place at 5 pm yesterday in Daliganj in central Lucknow.
In a video shot by one of the accused, the men clad in saffron shirts were seen with sticks in their hands and thrashing the vendors. The men were heard saying that they were assaulting the vendors because they were from Kashmir.
Several local residents of Lucknow intervened and asked the men to stop further assault of the two vendors.
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"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, SSP.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah took to Twitter to condemn the incident and wrote, "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? (sic)".
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
"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)," he further tweeted.
Post Pulwama terror attacks, several Kashmiri's residing in other parts of the country were targeted by several people from across the country. PM Narendra Modi also came in the support of Kashmiris and urged the people across India to not target them. He said that the fight is for Kashmir and not against Kashmiris.