KV Correspondent

Kashmiri brothers assaulted in B’luru for failing to speak in Kannad

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Jammu: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday demanded strict action against those who allegedly assaulted two Kashmiri brothers in Bengaluru for not speaking Kannada language.

According to media reports, a 24-year-old hotel- management student from Kashmir and his elder brother were reportedly beaten up and their vehicle damaged by a group of men near a bus stop in north Bengaluru’s Sanjay Nagar locality on the night of December 11.

“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,” Mufti posted on Twitter today.

Two persons have been arrested based on the CCTV footage installed near the bus stop.

The incident happened last Monday, when the brothers were returning home in their car in the wee hours after having dinner at Bhoopasandra. They had stopped their car near the NTI bus stand at NTI Layout in Sanjaynagar to attend a phone call.

Four men on two bikes stopped near the car. They asked the brothers something in Kannada and when the young men said they did not know Kannada and were unable to understand what was being said to them, the accused allegedly insisted that they speak in Kannada.

They then told the brothers they would be allowed to go only if they spoke in in Kannada. The victims said they were from North India and did not know Kannada. The men then called other people to the spot. All together they started pelting the victims and their car with stones. The front wind shield of the car is said to have been completely damaged. When the victims called the police control room for help, the accused escaped from the spot.

The hotel management student Lisan Ahmad and his elder brother reside in Nagashettyhalli and have been residents of Bengaluru for five years now.

“It was very scary. The accused surrounded us asking us to speak in Kannada. Though we told them we did not know how to, they kept insisting we speak in Kannada. The gang attacked us with stones and also damaged our car. My brother called the police control room for help and the police came to our rescue within a few minutes,” Ahmad told a local daily.

The accused are alleged to have used abusive language and even hitting Lisan with a stone on his head and other parts of the body. The accused are said to have even threatened to kill the men if they did not speak in Kannada.

When they called the police control room number on 100, the accused fled. The police took Lisan to the KC General Hospital for treatment as he was bleeding.

“The incident has happened in Sanjayanagar. The victims were beaten for not speaking in Kannada. Two of the accused, identified as Mahesh and Harish, have been arrested. Mahesh is a fashion designer while Harish is a driver by profession,” DCP (North) Chetan Singh Rathor told Bangalore Mirror. The police after arresting the accused called the victims to the police station who has identified them. The accused are said to have paid for the car damages. The accused were arrested based on the footage of the CCTVs installed near the NTI bus stop. The police are on the lookout for the other accused.

The Sanjayanagar police have registered a case (FIR No- 335/2017) under sections 324(causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 341 (wrongful restraint) 504(intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code.


KV Correspondent

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