Bajrang Dal Leader, Others Booked For Assaulting Kashmiri Shawl Seller In Uttarakhand

Rudrapur: Uttarakhand Police have booked and taken into custody a Bajrang Dal leader for allegedly assaulting a Kashmiri shawl seller. The action comes after a video of the incident went viral on social media, officials said.

Bilal Ahmed Ganie, a resident of Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir, was attacked when he was selling shawls door to door in the Kashipur area of Udham Singh Nagar district.

The assault came to light on Wednesday when a video of it went viral on the social media platform Instagram. In the video, the accused men were seen beating Ganie and demanding that he shout “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. Police later confirmed that the incident took place on December 22.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manikant Mishra said that an FIR was registered at Kashipur police station based on a complaint filed by the victim on Thursday (December 25).

“Any act that affects law and order and social harmony in the district will not be tolerated at any level. The district police are committed to maintaining peace and security,” Mishra said.

The accused youth, including Balrang Dal’s Ankur Singh, had been booked under sections 191(2), 115(2), 351(3), 352, 304, 62, 292 and 126(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). After registering the case, police identified the youths seen in the viral video and took them into custody.

“Interrogation is underway, and a fair and thorough investigation is being conducted, and strict legal action will be taken against those responsible,” police said.

Taking cognisance of the ‘communally sensitive’ matter, SSP Mishra also directed that the video of the assault be removed from social media. “Considering the potential for communal sensitivity, the police have been instructed to have the video removed,” he said and appealed to the public to avoid rumours and inflammatory content online.

The incident prompted sharp reaction from many political leaders, including Baramulla MP Parliament Engineer Adbul Rashid, former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu.

Engineer Rashid said that he had written letters to the chief ministers of Uttarakhand and Himachal, referring specifically to the Kashipur assault case.

Jammu and Kashmir Students Association National Convenor Nasir Khueham also raised concerns about the safety of Kashmiris in Uttarakhand. He said that Ganie had been selling shawls in Udham Singh Nagar for the past nine to ten years. “Despite this, he was threatened, asked to vacate the area and leave the state immediately, his stock was looted, and he was even threatened with death,” he said.

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