Pulwama backlash: Kashmiri students attacked in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal  

The assaulted Kashmiri students.

New Delhi: Members of Shiv Sena’s youth wing Yuva Sena attacked Kashmiri students studying in a college in Yavatmal following the Pulwama terror attack earlier this month.

Yavatmal Police superintendent M Rajkumar said, “The Kashmiri students were returning home after having dinner outside when activists of Yuva Sena intercepted them and slapped them. The video of the incident is there in social media. The victims lodged a complaint at Lohara police station Thursday. Police identified the culprits and have also apprehended the main accused in the incident.”

A victim of the attack said, “We were asked to say ‘Vande Mataram’ if we want to live here. They slapped us and abused us when we were returning from market on Wednesday evening.”

“The attackers asked us to vacate our rooms here and return to Kashmir within four days. We were warned that if we failed to return to Kashmir in this time frame, they will kill us. Some members in our colony intervened and saved us,” the student said.

In the video, attackers were seen forcing the students to shout slogans like “Vande Mataram” and “Hindustan Zindabad”.

Commenting on the incident, Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray said, “There is resentment across the country over the Pulwama terror attack. While it is necessary to teach Pakistan a lesson, one should realize nobody is troubled while doing so.”

Aaditya Thackeray also said that he would conduct an investigation into the Yavatmal thrashing incident and take the necessary action after truth is ascertained and called for unity among Indians.

Earlier, Kashmiri workers in a Uttar Pradesh sugar mill started fleeing after protests and threats against them.

Viral video of the attack on Kashmiri students at Yavatmal:

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