Fear and frame-up claims, post assault
We had packed our bags and were set to leave for Srinagar on Sunday but were counselled by our friends to stay back. That may have postponed our trip for now but I don’t see any other way out.
A MEMBER OF THE KASHMIRI FAMILY, who was allegedly beaten in Siddharth Extension
NEW DELHI: The family from Jammu and Kashmir, which was allegedly beaten by a mob in south east Delhi’s Siddharth Extension for feeding stray dogs, said they are contemplating to return to Srinagar ‘for now.’ They said they are living in fear. But the local Residents Welfare Association, some members of which have been accused of attacking them, dismissed their fears and allegations as baseless.
On the night of May 10, the family was allegedly attacked by a group of around 40 men and women. They were allegedly assaulted with batons and manhandled. The video of the attack captured on a cellphone had gone viral on social media. Police have arrested f our people, including the RWA president SN Pandey. The police had reg- istered another FIR, on the complaints by local residents, against the family under charges of assault.
The family has accused the mob of calling them ‘ Kashmiri extremists’ and attacking them without any provocation while locals have accused them of picking up fights when they were asked not to feed stray dogs.
A male member of the family, who did not wish to reveal his identity, said, “After the incident, and more so after the arrests, constant threats are being issued to us. It was a mob of 40 and only four have been arrested. The remaining are still free and said they would teach us a lesson.”
RWA secretary Varinder Singh said the family is making unsubstantiated allegations. “They can say anything they wish to. There are many Kashmiri families living in the neighbourhood and no one has had problems. The family has prevented municipal workers to sterilise dogs and have made fabricated allegations in the past too,” said Singh.
The 38-year-old Kashmiri financial consultant and his three sisters have been living in Siddharth Extension for the past 10 years. On the day of the incident, his fiancé was also with them. Despite footage of a woman member of the family being attacked by the mob, the local RWA claimed that it was a scuffle over the family feeding dogs and people on both sides suffered injuries.
“We had packed our bags and were set to leave for Srinagar on Sunday but were counselled by our friends to stay back. That may have postponed our trip for now but I don’t see any other way out. I cannot be with my sisters all the time and they are scared to step out of home,” said the consultant.
On Sunday, when HT visited Siddharth Extension, some policemen were present there. The additional deployment, said the police, is to ensure there is no law and order problem. The family said they had requested for police security.
The consultant said that the RWA has sent a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Delhi police, accusing the Kashmiri family of even harbouring terrorists. A copy of the letter has also been shared many times on social media but HT could not verify the authenticity of the claim.
“It’s been a decade since we are living here and we are law abiding citizens. Even if they have any problems with my family feeding dogs, why call us terrorists,” he said.
RWA member, Nalin Tripathi alleged that the family’s allegations were false and on the contrary, a family friend of theirs had threatened his family members and broken a name plate outside his house after the incident.