DEHRADUN — Kashmiri shawl vendor was assaulted by a group allegedly associated with a right-wing group in Uttarakhand’s Kashipur Monday.
The incident came to light after a man named Ankur Singh posted a video on his Instagram page showing him beating up Bilal Ganie of Kupwara while asking him to chant “Bharat Mata ki jai”.
Ganie is seen being assaulted by a group of five men who abuse him for refusing to repeat their chants. The video has been deleted from his Instagram account.
Ganie says he filed a complaint, but insisted that he did not want to pursue the case due to a fear of reprisal from the group. “As much as I want justice and condemnation for the act, I am scared of the consequences. I have to travel back to Kashmir in two months, and the case would tie me to Uttarakhand,” he says.
The 28-year-old visits the state in the winter months as a door-to-door shawl seller when winter descends upon Kupwara. Hailing from a family of carpenters, he says the winter months leave them with little work, forcing him to travel. Ganie has been working in Uttarakhand for eight years and earns Rs 60,000 in these three months.
“I was travelling with my stock and got down in Pratap Pur Monday when five men on two bikes waylaid me. They asked me where I was from, to which I said I was from Kashmir. Then they began to hound me. After beating and humiliating me, they asked me to go with them. It seemed like they would kill me, but I refused. Bystanders and those passing by goaded the mob by hurling abuses at me. No one stepped in to stop them,” he says.
Following the incident, Ganie has stayed put except to venture out to file the complaint.
Circle Officer of Kashipur, Deepak Singh, said that an FIR has not been registered as a probe is still underway. “The accused have submitted a mafinama and said they would not repeat it. The video has come to our notice, but there is a process we need to follow before filing cases,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association has written to the state DGP, Deepam Seth, urging action in the case. They requested that a fair and impartial investigation be carried out, the culprits involved promptly identified and arrested, and adequate protection provided to the victim and other Kashmiri traders so that they may live and work without fear in Uttarakhand.
“Such acts have created an atmosphere of fear and terror, not only for him but also for other Kashmiri traders who depend on seasonal work in the region,” the letter said. — (The Indian Express)