Bajrang Sonkar, main accused in assault on Kashmiri trader in Lucknow, is history-sheeter, has shared communal posts

Lucknow Police SSP Kalanidhi Naithani on Thursday said in a press conference that the culprit in the case of assault on a Kashmiri vendor in Lucknow, Bajrang Sonkar, has been arrested. Sonkar was a part of the mob which attacked the Kashmiri citizen in Uttar Pradesh’s capital and the police are on the lookout for the other accused. According to the police, Sonkar has a criminal background and has 12 cases including a murder case pending against him. A look at Sonkar’s Facebook profile indicates that his account is still active as there have regular posts by him even after the news of the incident broke out. In one his latest posts, written just a few hours ago, Sonkar hinting at justifying his group — Vishwa Hindu Dal’s — act, has written that he and his men are fighting for the Hindus and the army and asked people to join in or support them.

A close look at the activities in his profile indicates that another member of the group Himanshu Awasthi is his close accomplice. Sonkar has posted a photo along with Awasthi and captioned it as: “We know how to kill the talented with our talent; we are lions, we know how to rule.”

Sonkar has previously also shared posts demanding the removal of Article 35A in Jammu and Kashmir.

In another post, Sonkar had threatened that if “India takes over Pakistan in a war” then he would “capture” Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s “wife” (ex-wife) Reham Khan and that no one would then “stake a claim on her” otherwise he would “open fire”. In the same post, he has referred to himself as a “mafia” (don) and the metropolis head of the ‘Vishwa Hindu Dal’.

Sonkar joins the list of right-wing extremists in Uttar Pradesh who have been detained for being rogue and threatening or abusing people in the name of religion and “saffron unity”.