Kashmiri dry fruit vendors thrashed in Lucknow

Two dry fruit vendors from Kashmir were attacked by men from a fringe right-wing group in Lucknow last evening, amid the nationwide backlash on Kashmiris following the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama. Four of the attackers have been arrested after videos of the attack were widely shared.

In one video, the vendors, sitting on the roadside with their wares spread out, were seen being beaten up by men dressed in saffron. The Kashmiris are seen trying to shield their heads and pleading the attackers to stop. Another video shows the attackers ask the second vendor for his identify card as he tried to pack up and leave. One of the attackers is even heard saying the men were being beaten up as they were Kashmiris.

Mohammmed Afzal Naik and Abdul Salaam, however, were rescued by some of the locals, who advised the attackers not to “take law into your own hands” and to call in the police.

“These men just descended on us. They started beating us and calling us terrorists. We have been coming for 20 years. Something like this has never happened with us before,” one of the dry fruit sellers said while describing the traumatic moments to reporters.

“They said we are terrorists. We were told that we sell items here and throw stones there. They started thrashing us. They asked for our Aadhaar cards. We showed it to them,” Mohammmed Afzal Naik said.

Kashmiris – students, traders and others – have been targeted across the country. In most cases, the attackers belonged to right-wing groups.

Yesterday’s attackers have been identified, the police said. All are members of the Vishwa Hindu Dal, a right-wing fringe group. Among them is Himanshu Awasthi, who claims to be  the president of the Vishwa Hindu Dal. He had bragged about the attack on Facebook, claiming he and his men had carried it out. The video of the attack that he shared on Facebook has been taken down.

“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,” senior police officer Anand Kumar told NDTV.

Jammu and Kashmir politicians Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have condemned the assault.