2 Kashmiri street vendors attacked in Lucknow; 1 arrested

Lucknow: Two Kashmiri street vendors were attacked by a group of men in saffron shirts on a busy road in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow on Wednesday.

A local resident, Bajrang Sonker, has been arrested for thrashing the vendors.

The incident took place at around 5 pm on Wednesday in Daliganj in central Lucknow.

The video of the attack was widely shared on social media. One of the attackers is seen beating the man with a wooden stick. In one of the videos, one of the Kashmiri men is seen covering his head and pleading the attackers to stop beating him.

The street vendors were selling dry fruits when they were attacked and the locals rescued them.

Police said an FIR against unidentified men was registered and Sonker was arrested. Sonker was seen holding a stick in the viral video.

The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioning his 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?” Omar Abdullah tweeted on Thursday.

“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 posted.

After the Pulwama terror attack, Kashmiris in various parts of the country were reported to have been harassed or intimidated.

Kashmiri students and businesses were targeted in several states, while at some places, police booked some Kashmiris for “anti-India” social media post Pulwama attack.

The Supreme Court had directed all states and Union territories last Friday to ensure that Kashmiris, particularly students, feel secure, amid reports from several parts of the country that they were being targeted over the Pulwama attack.