Srinagar: A suspected Bajrang Dal man has been arrested along with his associates in connection with a brutal assault on a Kashmiri shawl seller in Uttarakhand earlier this week that has prompted widespread outrage in J&K.This is the second incident within a fortnight where a Kashmiri shawl seller has faced targeted harassment at the hands of Hindutva supporters. This also comes in the backdrop of the Delhi suicide bombing, which led to a series of targeted attacks on Kashmiris in other parts of the country.In a video statement issued on Thursday night, Manikant Mishra, senior superintendent of police in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district, said that the latest incident took place on Monday (December 22) in the jurisdiction of Kashipur police station.Mishra said that a video posted to Instagram account @ANKURSINGHBAJRANGDAL circulated on social media on December 24, showing a shawl seller from Kashmir being beaten up and threatened by some local residents of Kashipur.The victim has been identified as Bilal Ahmad Ganie, a resident of Kupwara district in north Kashmir. Mishra said that Ahmad was a known face in Kashipur as he has been selling Kashmiri shawls in the area for the last nine years.Ahmad was busy moving door to door hawking Kashmiri shawls on Monday when he was stopped by a group of five to six young men who were riding motorcycles on the main road in Kashipur.The two-minute video filmed by one of the perpetrators shows a young man in his thirties wearing a blue sweatshirt and black half-jacket grasping the right arm of Ahmad near what appears to be a busy area while ordering him to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.A small crowd of curious motorcyclists and pedestrians, including some females, builds up around the site of the commotion as the perpetrator pushes and slaps Ahmad, who refuses to oblige and instead offers to chant ‘Bharat Ki Jai’.Ahmad can also be seen politely asking the man filming the incident to turn off the camera. However, his response annoys the main perpetrator who warns Ahmad that he was going to get thrashed if he doesn’t chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. “Which country do you live in? Are you from Pakistan? See these bastards. They live in Kashmir. Look what they have done in Bangladesh,” he says to the camera, while twisting the wrist of Ahmad and launching into a flurry of abuses, slaps and kicks which leave Ahmad visibly shaken. The video shows the perpetrator pinning Ahmed on the ground while few others also join in the assault. “You eat what India provides you. You do business in India and earn here but you won’t say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’?” At least six perpetrators are seen in the video who seem to have participated in the violence, including the unidentified man who is filming the attack, while a group of local men and women can be seen watching the spectacle from a distance without intervening.Later, Ahmad can be seen submitting twice to the demands of the attackers who are believed to be affiliated with the Bajrang Dal. According to reports, the victim was traumatised by the attack and didn’t approach the police initially due to fear of reprisal. Fearing for his life, Ahmad’s family is also reported to have urged him to return to Kashmir. Demand for actionHowever, after the video triggered outrage on social media – and politicians including Lok Sabha MP and senior National Conference leader Syed Aga Ruhullah, former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and others demanded action against the culprits – the Uttarakhand police swung into action. Awami Ittehad chairman and Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla constituency, Engineer Rashid, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail, also demanded “immediate and stern action” against those involved in assaults and humiliation of Kashmiri shawl sellers in his letters to the chief ministers of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.SSP Mishra said that a first information report has been registered at Kashipur police station under sections 191 (2) (rioting), 115 (2) (causing hurt), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation), 352 (provoking breach of peace), 304 (snatching), 62 (attempt to commit offence), 292 (public nuisance) and 126 (2) (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Mishra said that the offensive video has been removed from social media and an unspecified number of accused have been arrested, though he didn’t disclose their identities. “We are going to conduct a fair and thorough investigation and strict legal action will be taken against those found guilty. Any activity which causes law and order problems or disturbs social harmony in the district would not be tolerated,” the SSP said.Earlier, a Kashmiri shawl was harassed in Dera area of Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district when a group of suspected Hindutva rabble-rousers ordered him to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ in Himachal Pradesh. The shawl seller had earned praise on social media for standing his ground and refusing to oblige the perpetrators.