Three tradesmen from Kashmir who went to Ranchi for selling their woollen wears were allegedly beaten up by a group of people and forced to say “Jai Shree Ram” and “Pakistan Murdabad” on Thursday.
The victims were identified as Bilal Ahmed, Shabbir Ahmed, and Wasim Ahmed from Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir (JK), who complained to Doranda police station in Ranchi. Following the complaint, one accused Raj Kishor had been taken into custody.
The traders have been selling their woollen wares in Ranchi every winter since 1999. Speaking to The Times of India(TOI), the victims said that other Kashmiris have also faced similar attacks in the recent past. The victims were selling clothes on road in Doranda, Ranchi when the accused reportedly called them anti-nationals and warned them to leave Ranchi, however, the traders refused to comply.
“He started hitting us with his fist and leg while asking his brother for a gun to shoot me,” said one of the victims in a video posted by a journalist Ashraf Hussain.
After a gun was called for, the victims reportedly ran away from the site, leaving their woollen wares behind.
The police stated that they have arrested an accused who goes by the name ‘Kishore,’ who they claim is a drug addict. However, it is essential to notice that the name of the person arrested varies from the name mentioned in the victim’s account. The traders also claimed that the man’s parents and cousins supported him instead of stopping him.
“We have always been sensitive to the plight of residents and people who come from outside Ranchi,” Surindra Jha, Ranchi’s senior superintendent of police, told TOI.