Videos of saffron-clad men beating Kashmiri vendors in Lucknow go viral; police arrest all four attackers

Videos showing men in saffron coloured kurtas beating up Kashmiri vendors in the Uttar Pradesh capital of Lucknow have gone viral on social media, ending in the arrest of all four attackers, including main accused Bajrang Sonkar. In the videos, two of the four attackers are visible. The UP Police on Thursday held a press conference and said that they would act to provide safety to all people and would ensure that no discrimination or hostility happens on the basis of any person’s religion, caste or region. “All provisions under the ‘Goonda Act, Gangster Act’ would be implemented,” the police said. [caption id=“attachment_6212131” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A screenshot from the video shared by Twitter user Prashant Kumar, showing the men beating up a Kashmiri man in Lucknow.[/caption] In a press conference, one of the two Kashmiri men who were attacked, Mohammad Afzaal, said he would set up shop at the same location as he had for 20 years. “In 20 years, nothing like this has ever happened to me. Today, these people arrived to attack us. They said, ‘If you are here tomorrow, we will kill you.’ Police have helped us as lot. And thanks to them, I can say that I will continue with my business here the way I always have,” he said. While one of the videos shows a Kashmiri man crying out as he is being attacked by two or more men wielding sticks, and the other video shows passersby coming to the aid of a dry fruits seller. When a man in a red jacket asks the attackers why they are beating up the vendor, the goons reply “because he is Kashmiri” and go on to heckle him for his Aadhaar card. The videos sparked widespread outrage on social media, with many appalled at the nature of the attack. Others lauded the people who came to the Kashmiri man’s aid. News18 identified the location of the attack as Daliganj Bridge in Lucknow, where a similar assault on a Kashmiri dry fruits sellers had taken place earlier. The videos were first shared on Twitter by journalist Prashant Kumar. They came to the notice of IG Range Lucknow Police, which directed Lucknow Police to “look into it” in a tweet. Reportedly, some people belonging to the same right-wing group have also posted videos of the incident on Facebook bragging about it and threating to carry out more such attacks. Lucknow Police then wrote that cases had been registered against the attackers under sections 147 (rioting), 323 (intentionally causing hurt) and 504 (intentionally insulting with a motive to breach peace) of the Indian Penal Code. Meanwhile, NDTV reported that accused person who has been arrested is a repeat offender and also a murder accused. Aam Aadmi Party national media convener Vikas Yogi noted that all these sections were for bailable offences.

उक्त प्रकरण में SHO हसनगंज द्वारा अवगत कराया गया कि मु0अ0सं0 80/19 धारा 147/323/504 iPC का पंजीकृत कर आवश्यक वैधानिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।

— LUCKNOW POLICE (@lkopolice) March 6, 2019

Early on Thursday, Lucknow Police tweeted that they had arrested one of the attackers, sharing a photograph of the man behind bars and promising “stern action” against him.

हसनगंज में अराजकता फैलाने वाला व्यक्ति गिरफ्तार।
अराजकता फैलाई तो होगी कड़ी कार्यवाही - लखनऊ पुलिस pic.twitter.com/BNYvwCPsQT

— LUCKNOW POLICE (@lkopolice) March 6, 2019

More from India

‘Make in India’ Rafales: MoD begins review of Rs 2 lakh crore fighter jet proposal Nari Shakti sets sail: 10 women officers from 3 forces on historic voyage around the world

Kumar wrote in another tweet that the attackers had claimed to belong to the right-wing Vishwa Hindu Dal. Attaching screenshots to his tweet, the journalist said the men had not only claimed responsibility for the attack but had also bragged about it on social media. Former Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah also took note of the incidents and tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saaying:

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

Among others who spoke out against the attack were Kashmiri student leader Shehla Rashid, Congress media panelist Pankhuri Pathak and Congress spokesperson Akhilesh P Singh. Singh stressed that the attackers needed to be arrested under the National Security Act.

माननीय @dgpup @Uppolice @CMOfficeUP नीद से उठो
कृपया तत्काल इन गुण्डों को राष्ट्रिय सुरक्षा कानून के तहत
गिरफ़्तार करे
ये गुण्डे देश,प्रदेश और समाज की छवि और माहौल ख़राब कर रहे है
कृत कार्यवाही से अवगत भी कराये तथा
इन सब का पूर्ण ब्योरा भी बताये।@ANI@abpnewshindi https://t.co/XhcNWpnZ8F

— Akhilesh P. Singh (@AkhileshPSingh) March 7, 2019

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

NDA's CP Radhakrishnan wins vice presidential election

South Korea’s experience shows why India has been right about Trump

Uttar Pradesh has seen a spate of violence directed towards Kashmiris since the attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama killed 42 Central Reserve Police Force personnel on 14 February. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) workers, in the presence of police, had forced shopkeepers in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district to shut their stalls at a handicraft exhibition. VHP workers had also forcibly closed down Kashmiri stalls at an exhibition in Faridpur in Bareilly, reported News18. Not just in Uttar Pradesh,  violence on and threats issued to Kashmiris  were been reported across the country in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. On 22, February, the Supreme Court, hearing a plea seeking its intervention to prevent alleged threats on Kashmiri people and students, had issued notices to the Central government and 11 states and sought their response on the issue. The court had also asked the Delhi police commissioner, along with the chief secretaries and director generals of police of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand to take “prompt” and necessary action to prevent such incidents.