Kashmiri shawl trader assaulted in Bengal

A Kashmiri youth was allegedly beaten up by a mob in West Bengal’s Nadia district and forced to chant “Vande Mataram”. The video of the incident which took place on Monday has gone viral on social media. One person is arrested in the case so far.

In the video, the Kashmiri youth, a shawl trader, is seen with bruises on his face and blood streaming down from his nose. A mob was seen forcing him to chant Vande Mataram and constantly hurling abuses at him. The incident took place in the Taherpur area of Nadia district.

After the video of the assault went viral former chief minister Omar Abdullah spoke to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress (TMC) national spokesperson Derek O’ Brien.

“ Having seen the video doing the rounds on social media of a young Kashmiri man being beaten up in Kolkata I’ve been in touch with @derekobrienmp & @MamatyaOfficial regarding the matter. The culprits have been identified & stringest possible action has been assured,” tweeted Abdullah on Wednesday. He mistakenly mentioned Kolkata instead of Nadia as the place of the assault.

He also thanked the West Bengal Chief Minister for action being taken against those who were involved in the assault.

Another Kashmiri youth was heckled in the Behala area of Kolkata late on Sunday night.