Local Hindus assault Kashmiri vendors in northern India

NEW DELHI

Amid heightened tensions with Pakistan over Kashmir, two Kashmiri men have been assaulted by local Hindus in northern India, media reports said Thursday.

The two men were abused, slapped and beaten with a stick in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state, because of their identities before being rescued by locals, said a report in NDTV.

A video of the incident has gone viral on social media sites in which several men dressed in bright orange assaulted a vendor with a stick.

One of the perpetrators remains on the run while police nabbed a second, Bajrang Sonkar, who local police said had 12 court cases against him, including one murder case.

When asked why they were beating the men, the two attackers replied that they were Kashmiris, reported local media.

Meanwhile, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti tweeted about the incident and demanded action on the matter.

A total of four attackers have been arrested by police, local authorities announced.

Kashmiris have been attacked in other parts of the country in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, in which a local youth rammed an explosive-laden car into a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy, leading to the death of 40 soldiers.