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Time of India
30-04-2025
- Time of India
Kashmiri vendors assaulted in Mussoorie for Pahalgam ‘revenge'
Mussoorie: Two Kashmiri shawl vendors were assaulted by local youths on Mall Road in Mussoorie earlier this week in what they said was "retribution" for the terror attack in Pahalgam. Even as police arrested three men, members of the community said "16 have left the town for safety". The incident came to light after a video emerged on social media, purportedly showing the vendors being slapped and harassed despite presenting their Aadhaar cards to the assailants. One of the assaulted traders, Shabir Ahmed Dar, who has worked in Mussoorie for 18 years, said 16 of them were forced to leave the hill town and return home. He said goods worth approximately Rs 12 lakh were left behind. Suraj Singh from Post Kempty, Pradeep Singh from Hathipaon, and Abhishek Uniyal from Company Garden have been arrested under section 81 of the Uttarakhand Police Act. They were later fined and released after issuing written apologies. Nasir Khuehami, national convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students' Association, posted on social media that the vendors were "brutally assaulted by Bajrang Dal members " and 16 other Kashmiri traders, mostly from Kupwara, were "threatened, harassed, and forcibly evicted." He claimed that police had advised them to vacate and that they left goods worth around 30 lakh rupees behind. Dehradun SSP Ajay Singh "We identified the assaulters and arrested them and filed a case against them. They tendered written apology and promised not to do such acts in the future. We also found the phone numbers of victims, who have since returned to Kupwara in south Kashmir. I called them and assured them that they were free to come to Mussoorie and carry out their business." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending local enterprise accounting software [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo Singh added that there were around 18 Kashmiri traders with permanent shops in Mussoorie and 10–12 seasonal vendors. "They were contacted and all of them told that the atmosphere in Mussoorie was peaceful and they did not have any difficulties here," Singh said. "I also spoke to Kupwara SSP and assured that Kashmiri traders were safe in Mussoorie and can go ahead with their business after police verification." TOI also spoke to Kashmiri shopkeepers who stayed back. Muhammed Aslam Malik, who has operated his shop since 2019, said, "I am running my shop here since 2019 and have not faced any harassment here." Rajat Aggarwal, president of Mussoorie Traders Association, condemned the attack but called it an isolated incident. "The society of Mussoorie is not aggressive or vindictive," he said. Mussoorie: Two Kashmiri shawl vendors were assaulted by local youths on Mall Road in Mussoorie earlier this week in what they said was "retribution" for the terror attack in Pahalgam. Even as police arrested three men, members of the community said "16 have left the town for safety". The incident came to light after a video emerged on social media, purportedly showing the vendors being slapped and harassed despite presenting their Aadhaar cards to the assailants. One of the assaulted traders, Shabir Ahmed Dar, who has worked in Mussoorie for 18 years, said 16 of them were forced to leave the hill town and return home. He said goods worth approximately Rs 12 lakh were left behind. Suraj Singh from Post Kempty, Pradeep Singh from Hathipaon, and Abhishek Uniyal from Company Garden have been arrested under section 81 of the Uttarakhand Police Act. They were later fined and released after issuing written apologies. Nasir Khuehami, national convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students' Association, posted on social media that the vendors were "brutally assaulted by Bajrang Dal members" and 16 other Kashmiri traders, mostly from Kupwara, were "threatened, harassed, and forcibly evicted." He claimed that police had advised them to vacate and that they left goods worth around 30 lakh rupees behind. Dehradun SSP Ajay Singh "We identified the assaulters and arrested them and filed a case against them. They tendered written apology and promised not to do such acts in the future. We also found the phone numbers of victims, who have since returned to Kupwara in south Kashmir. I called them and assured them that they were free to come to Mussoorie and carry out their business." Singh added that there were around 18 Kashmiri traders with permanent shops in Mussoorie and 10–12 seasonal vendors. "They were contacted and all of them told that the atmosphere in Mussoorie was peaceful and they did not have any difficulties here," Singh said. "I also spoke to Kupwara SSP and assured that Kashmiri traders were safe in Mussoorie and can go ahead with their business after police verification." TOI also spoke to Kashmiri shopkeepers who stayed back. Muhammed Aslam Malik, who has operated his shop since 2019, said, "I am running my shop here since 2019 and have not faced any harassment here." Rajat Aggarwal, president of Mussoorie Traders Association, condemned the attack but called it an isolated incident. "The society of Mussoorie is not aggressive or vindictive," he said.
Indian Express
29-04-2025
- Indian Express
‘No one stood up for us': 16 shawl sellers leave Mussoorie for Kashmir after 2 are ‘assaulted by locals'
At least 16 shawl sellers from Kashmir have left Mussoorie after two vendors were attacked, allegedly by locals, on April 23, police said, adding that three men have been arrested in connection with the case. According to a police officer stationed in Mussoorie, two men selling Kashmiri shawls and clothes on the Mall Road in Mussoorie were assaulted by a group of men and asked to leave. In a video that has gone viral, the group hurls abuse at the two vendors and beats them repeatedly. They are asked to produce their ID and told to leave the area. One of the vendors, Shabir Ahmed Dar from Kupwara, said they have been visiting the city for 18 years. 'We visit Dehradun in the winter and Mussoorie in the summer. We live near the mosque and have known the locals for a long time. The men who assaulted us were also from the area and had seen us before. No one stood up for us. There are many workers from other states in Kashmir, but we have never misbehaved with anyone,' the 36-year-old said. Dar claimed that the same day, policemen arrived at their doorstep. 'Around 11 pm, police told us that they could not help us and there were threats levelled against Kashmiris in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, and it was better for us to leave. I called my brother back home, and he phoned a senior officer in our district (in Kashmir). The officer spoke with the cops here, and they said they cannot be held responsible if something goes wrong. This made us more anxious, and we left quickly,' he said. However, police said that they did not ask everyone to leave, but advised those who had not registered or conducted verification with the police. The Dehradun police are conducting a verification drive to identify and register outsiders, including tenants, shopkeepers and vendors. The drive was launched last week. Dar and 15 other vendors left for Dehradun the same night, took a bus to Jammu, and reached home the next day in a local vehicle. 'Catch the perpetrators of the attack, not us. This is our only sustenance,' Dar said. Javed Ahmed (30), another vendor who shares a room with Dar, said they had to leave behind goods worth Rs 12 lakh. 'We do not know when we will be able to go back, but all our stock is there. Our fathers were once vendors there, and they have never faced these threats and assaults,' he said. An officer also said that an outfit called Karni Sena took out a rally against Kashmiris in the city a few days ago, but they were 'strictly dealt with'. In 2017, the traders' body in Mussoorie had asked Kashmiri vendors and shopkeepers to leave the city following a cricket match between India and Pakistan in which the latter had won and a few juveniles had allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans. Though the children were not from the Valley, Kashmiris were accused of inciting them.
