Kashmiri shawl seller assaulted in Uttarakhand allegedly by members of Hindutva group

A Kashmiri shawl seller was assaulted by a group of men allegedly associated with a Hindutva organisation in Kashipur town of Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district on Monday, The Indian Express reported.

The man, a Kupwara resident Bilal Ahmed Ganie, was attacked when he was going from door to door to sell shawls. The assault came to light on Thursday when a video of it was widely shared on social media platform Instagram.

In the video, Ganie was seen being beaten up by men who demanded that he shout “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.

Ganie told The Times of India that the assailants asked him his name and where he was from.

“When I said Kashmir, they started beating me with kicks and punches,” he said. “One of them hit my legs with a cane, and I fell to the ground.”

The shawl seller was further quoted as saying: “They asked me to say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. I said I would proudly say ‘Hindustan Zindabad’ as this is our country.”

Ganie said that bystanders goaded the mob and verbally abused him, The Indian Express reported.

Bilal Ahmad a shawl seller was brutally assaulted by right wing goons in Kashipur Uttarakhand. Despite approaching the Pratappur Goshala Police Station no FIR has reportedly been registered so far.
Urge the DGP Uttarakhand to kindly intervene & ensure that an...

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