SRINAGAR: In March a gang of four men created sort of a crisis when they caught hold of two Kashmiri vendors selling the dry fruit in Hasanganj market and beat them. They were accused of being stone pelters. The hate crime video that was viral on social media forced the UP Police to act and arrest the gang.
The four persons arrested by the police were identified as Bajrang Sonkar, Amar, Himanshu and Anirrudh. As the details were revealed that they belong to the Parivaar, the BJP distanced itself from them. Later, Prime Minister congratulated Adityanath government for arresting the four persons.
The hate crime came in a chain of events that followed the Lethpora attack in which a suicide bomber rammed his explosive laden car into a CRPF convoy.
The video was carried by almost all the TV channels that created a pressure on the UP Police to act. “Nothing will do more damage to the idea of India in Jammu and Kashmir than videos like these,” Omar Abdullah had said in a series of tweets. “Keep thrashing Kashmiris like this on the streets at the hands of RSS/Bajrang Dal goons and then try to sell the idea of ‘atoot ang’ (unbreakable part), it simply won’t fly.”
Arrests apart, the pressure led the two traders to resume their decades old routine from the same spot, two days later. They were identified as Abdul Salam Naik, 35, and Afzal Naik, 40, both residents of a Kulgam village.
The twist in the story came on June 4, 2019, when Himanshu Awasthi, one of the four attackers claimed to have met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his official residence in Lucknow.
“Awasthi posted a picture of the meeting on his Facebook profile,” newscentral 24×7 reported. “Present in the meeting with him was Bal Yogeshwar, a cousin of former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He said that he congratulated CM Adityanath on BJP’s recent poll victory.”
The portal added: “Moreover, Awasthi claimed that he is scheduled to meet PM Modi at the PM’s official residence in Delhi — 7 Race Course Road.”
