Physical Wounds Heal, But Trauma Haunts Forever, Says Kashmiri Vendor Days After Being Assaulted in Lucknow

Lucknow: The physical pain is healing, but the trauma is far from fading away, said Abdul Salam, one of the two Kashmir vendors who was brutally assaulted by members of local right wing outfit, Vishwa Hindu Dal trust, two days ago.

Abdul, a resident of Chimmer Norabad village which is 25 kilometres away from Pulgam, has been a dry fruit seller in Lucknow for the past 20 years, but had never faced a targeted attack before.

“The left side of my head still aches,” said Abdul, recalling Wednesday’s grisly incident. However, the 35-year-old said that even though the physical wounds will be cured with time, it is the sheer harassment and mental bruise that will haunt him forever.

“I have three kids, two of them live with me in Lucknow and another one lives in Kashmir at our family home. On hearing about the incident, everyone in the family was worried sick. We come here every three to four months to earn a living, but this was the first time any such incident happened with us.” Abdul told News18.

Abdul also acknowledged the swift action taken by the police against the culprits.

On Wednesday, Afzal and Abdul were selling dry fruits — as has been the practice for the past several years — when they were attacked with sticks by saffron-clad men at Daliganj area, the video of which went viral on social media. Local people, however, rushed to their rescue and informed the police.

Soon after the video of the incident went viral, the Lucknow police and the local administration swung into action and nabbed the accused men within hours and booked them under relevant sections of the IPC.

In order to support the Kashmiri vendors, the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), on Friday organised a gathering and asked the people present there to buy dry-fruits from Kashmiri vendors.

AIDWA leader, Seema Rana said, “We decided to organise a gathering to ask people to buy stuff from Kashmiri dry fruit sellers because we believe that it will reinstate faith in them. Lucknow has always been kind to everyone and we have always stood up for what is right. We hope such incidents are not repeated in future.”