In a disturbing incident that took place a week after the Pulwama terror attack, four Kashmiri students were humiliated, beaten up and forced by Yuv Sena activists to raise slogans like “Vande Mataram”, “Hindustan Zindabad” and “Bharatmata ki Jai” at Yavatmal in eastern Maharashtra.
Umar Rashid Dar (19) and Umar Nazir Ganai (20) both from Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir and two of their other friends from the same state were caught hold of near their rented homes at Yavatmal late on Wednesday night, beaten up and forced to raise slogans hailing India, by the Yuv Sena activists.
The victim students are from Dayabhai Patel College of Physical Education. The Yuv Sena activists accosted them near their rented homes in Waghapur Road area of the town and physically harassed them as a mark of “protest” against the Pulwama terror strike in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. Two of the jawans from the neighbouring Buldhana district were among those killed in the Pulwama attack.
A clip of video footage shot by the Yuv Sena activists themselves went viral on social media on Thursday. The footage showed a local Yuv Sena leader beating the Kashmiri students and asking them questions like to from where they were, as to why they had come to Yavatmal and whether were they linked with terrorists. “What is your name? Why have you come here? You should not come here.... What connection do you with the terrorists there?... You relatives are killing our jawans there. Why have you come here? How many students are here like you in Yavatmal”.
The replies from a student like “I have to come to study here... I am the son of a doctor. I have not been to Kashmir for the last one and a half years...There are 15 to 20 Kashmiri students in Yavatmal (the Yuv Sena leader tells the student: Tell them not to be here),” would not satisfy the Yuv Sena leader who continued to beat him and other students up.
The footage of the incident also showed the Yuv Sena leader order the victim Kashmiri students to raise slogans like “Hindustan Zindabad”, “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. The victim students readily obliged the Yuv Sena leader.
Incidentally, the incident took place four days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Yavatmal town to launch several development projects. In his speech, Modi said that however the perpetrators of Pulwama mayhem “will definitely be punished” and the security forces had been given a “free hand” to deal with the counter-attack they deemed fit.
Following the incident, the Yuva Sena came in for sharp criticism from various quarters. In a damage control exercise, Yuv Sena president Aditya Thackeray urged his supporters not to vent their anger against “people from our own country” all in the name of “showing their anger against Pakistan”.
“I think the outrage was against Pakistan and the need to give it a fitting reply is important… But we must ensure that this is not directed at our own citizens in any manner,” Aditya said.
“What has happened is not proper and highly condemnable. If they are our members we would take action against them,” Yuva Sena secretary Varun Sardesai said.Meanwhile, the local Lohara police station has registered a case in connection with the incident. “ We are recording the statements of the victims and we would soon identify the accused,” Yavatmal’s district superintendent of police M Rajkumar said.
Extending support to the victim students, Dayabhai Patel College of Physical Education Sandeep Chawak said: “We are with the affected students. Three of the four victim students are studying in our college for the past three years, while the remaining one has been here for the past one year”.
A team of police led by DSP Rajkumar visited the college, interacted with the students and assured them that there would not be any repeat of such incidents. “We have increased the security and patrolling around homes where the Kashmiri boys stay,” Rajumar told the students.