Kashmiri family assaulted, locals deny hate crime
TARGETED Family says called ‘extremists’; dispute erupted over feeding of stray dogs
NEWDELHI: Five persons, including four women, were allegedly assaulted by a group of men and women over a dispute about stray dogs in Siddhartha Extension on Thursday. A video of the alleged assault emerged on social media in which one of the women can be seen on the road as family members try to save her from a mob assaulting them with batons.
All the victims, originally from Jammu and Kashmir, are from the same family and in their early 30s. The family members claimed they were called “Kashmiri extremists” by some persons in the mob and that the attack was “completely unprovoked”.
The locals, including some seen in the video, countered the claims, saying the fight broke out between the two sides over the family “feeding stray dogs” in the locality.
“Around 11.30pm, when we were on our way to drop my fiancé, we were stopped by a mob of around 40 persons, which included local RWA president SN Pandey. They started hitting us even as we pleaded them to let us go. They called us ‘Kashmiri extremists’ and said we would not be allowed to stay in our house anymore,” said the male member of the family, who did not wish to be identified. He said the family has been living in the same rented house for the past 11 years.
Pandey and others denied the family’s claims and said they were objecting to the family trying to stop civic workers from taking away stray dogs from the society. Pandey said the stray dogs had attacked many people.
“We are not against feeding dogs, but there is a designated place for it. This family, however, feeds them wherever they wish and the dog population has swelled. Every now and then there is a complaint that someone has been bitten by a stray dog. It’s a safety issue,” said Pandey.
Pandey, however, denied that the family members were called “Kashmiri extremists”.
Ronak Walia, a local, who was seen in the video trying to save the victims, said, “I heard some people in the mob call them ‘Kashmiri extremists’, which is unacceptable,” said Walia, a hotel management student.
Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said the police has registered a case after the attacked family submitted a complaint. The case was registered under sections 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman ), 354A (sexual harassment), 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (assault), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman ) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.
“There have been more than 50 complaints and counter complaints against the residents of Siddarth Enclave and the complainant. A dispute over feeding of stray dogs took place yesterday’s night. An FIR under appropriate sections of the law has been registered,” Biswal said.