Not a racial assault, say Kashmiri brothers beaten up by group of 4

Two Kashmiri brothers were assaulted by a group of four men  in a road rage incident in Sanjaynagar, purportedly because they failed to communicate in Kannada. Police have arrested two  of the suspects and identified the rest.  The incident occurred around 12.15 am on December 10.  

Lisan Ahmed (24), a hotel management student,  and his elder brother  had pulled in at NTI bus stop to return a phone call.  Four men on two motorcycles stopped by. Speaking  Kannada, they demanded why had they parked their car  in the middle of the road. The brothers asked them to speak Hindi or English.

The men got angry at their response and picked a  fight with them. Both the parties  got into fisticuffs. The four men managed to overpower the brothers and  went on to smash the  windshield  of their car and stone  the automobile.  

Lisan called Namma 100.  A Hoysala patrol car arrived at the spot soon after. Police took the brothers to KC General Hospital for a medical examination before taking them to the  Sanjaynagar police station. The brothers filed a  complaint that they were assaulted for not knowing the local language. Both the parties were drunk as they were returning from parties on Sunday night, police said.

The arrested suspects are  Harish (23), a driver, and Mahesh (24), a fashion designer. Both are residents of Sanjaynagar.

"The attack was not racial as the local men didn't know where the victims hailed from. The victims didn't understand what the suspects were telling them in Kannada. We have arrested two men and identified two more," said Chethan Rathor Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North).

Lisan told DH: "We have withdrawn  our complaint as we do not want to get into legal  hassles  as we are students. Our parents are unnecessarily worried. It was not a racial attack, but a quarrel due to miscommunication."

Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the  incident seemed to have  started as the brothers had parked in the  middle of the road. "I have asked the DCP concerned to look into the matter and take it to the logical conclusion," he told this newspaper.  

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Very disturbed: Mehbooba Mufti

Jammu and Kashmir  Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday demanded strict action against those who allegedly assaulted the two Kashmiri brothers in Bengaluru for not speaking Kannada. "Very disturbed by the news of 2 brothers from Kashmir being assaulted in Bengaluru. I would urge the authorities to take strict action against the accused," she tweeted.