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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........

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