Kashmiri journalist assaulted in Pune, no arrests

Pune: In second such incident in three days, a journalist from Kashmir was assaulted by some unknown persons in Pune, even as the Maharashtra Police nabbed three Yuva Sena office-bearers at Yavatmal on Friday, officials said.

In the latest incident, Zibran Nazeer, a Copy Editor working with a national English daily was roughed up by some unidentified persons.

No arrests have been made so far, an official said.

Meanwhile, the police in Yavatmal arrested three Yuva Sena office-bearers, including Ajinkya Motke, for allegedly beating up five students near their home in Waghapur Road area of the town.

The Aditya Thackeray-led youth wing of the Shiv Sena reacted by expelling the office-bears involved in the assault which created a political furore.

Simultaneously, Aditya Thackeray also sought to distance himself from the assault with a stern statement and a warning of strict action against them.

He tweeted: “There was an unfortunate incident yesterday (Thursday) in Yavatmal, with some students of Jammu & Kashmir. The @ShivSena had issued a press note yesterday itself which hasn’t been printed today (Friday), maybe to further sensationalise the issue or defame us, while ignoring our disciplinary action.”

“As of last evening, the party has sacked those involved in the act. J&K is a part of India and no Indian, or for that matter, nobody should face the brunt of anger that is towards terrorism. We understand the angst but it must be against terror, not innocent people,” Aditya wrote.

In Yavatmal, the Kashmiri students — identified as Umar Nazeer Ganai, Umar Rashid Dar, Tajimullah Ali, Owas Mushtaq and Amir Mulad — were publicly humiliated and beaten up by a mob of around a dozen Yuva Sena activists.

They also forced them to raise slogans like “Vande Mataram”, “Hindustan Zindabad” and “Bharatmata ki Jai”, and the terrified youths obliged.

They are all studying in Dayabhai Patel College of Physical Education, which has come out in full support of the Kashmiri victims.

A video-clip of the incident went viral in social media on Thursday with strong criticism from the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, among others.

There are an estimated two dozen Kashmiri students in Yavatmal, and several thousand across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur and other towns.

[source_without_link]IANS[/source_without_link]