Ishfaq-ul-Hassan
SRINAGAR—A 22-year-old Kashmiri business executive suffered serious wounds after he was assaulted by six unidentified men outside his office in Sector-44 of Gurugram on Thursday night.
Identified as Tariq Ahmad Bhat, he is working as Financial Advisor in Policy Bazar for the last two years. Anger has swept across Kashmir after the news about the assault reached his hometown.
Police have registered a case of causing hurt, thrashing, and wrongful restrain threatening under section 323, 34, 506 of the Indian Penal Code. “The victim has received some injuries on the chest, back, and head during the incident. The matter was reported to the police on Friday afternoon,” police sources said.
Bhat has told the police that he doesn’t know who the attackers were and why he was beaten. He said some unidentified men blindfolded him and thrashed him for several minutes before leaving the spot.
“He told me that some goons knocked him down and started punching on his face and stomach. He said he was beaten to the pulp. He tried to escape and runway, but could not. He was beaten for no reason,” said Nasir Khuehami, spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association (JKSA).
Hailing from Handwara in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district, he is the sole breadwinner of the family. “He told me he held his ears just to save himself. However, they did not relent and thrashed him brutally. He was attacked after he left company office,” said Nasir
Reacting to the incident, Policy Bazaar has assured full support to its employee.
“We stand in support of our employee, Tariq Bhat, and are in constant touch with local authorities to help him. The wellness of our employees is paramount to us and we will do everything possible to ensure the safety of everyone from the Policy Bazaar family,” the company tweeted.
Police said they are scanning the CCTV footage to identify the assailants. Police have launched a massive manhunt to nab the culprits.
This is not the first time when Kashmiris have been attacked outside Jammu and Kashmir. Last year, six labourers from the Chenab Valley were seriously injured when a group of youth stormed their residential quarter and attacked them with iron rods and sticks at Pundo-Barote in Himachal Pradesh.
In May last year, five Kashmiri labourers were injured when goons attacked them in Assam.
