Mumbai: A 41-year-old Kashmiri businessman, based in Mumbai’s Colaba area, was allegedly assaulted by unknown persons in broad daylight on Tuesday.
The victim is identified as Younis Rather, who originally hails from Padshahi Bagh, Srinagar of Kashmir, but has been living in Mumbai for the last 18 years.
Police Allege Fight Came Out Of Business Rivalry
According to the police, Younis runs a tailoring business in Colaba and has several high-profile clients, including foreigners. Like Younis, the man who allegedly assaulted him, too runs a tailoring business, just next to Younis’s shop. In the past few days, the duo was arguing and fighting over customers and on Tuesday, the matter escalated into one attacking the other. In the video that went viral on social media platforms, which is CCTV camera footage, the assaulter is seen cornering Younis and thrashing him with his hands. Passersby are seen standing and watching the scene without any interruption.
From the police sources, FPJ learnt that Younis had approached the Colaba police after getting treated at a local hospital. He wanted to file a First Information Report (FIR) but in the questioning, both Younis and the assaulter revealed that the fight was a squabble, regarding their businesses, but it escalated, said the police officials.
However, Younis, who spoke to the FPJ on Friday, said a different story. According to him, the assaulter, named Shahrukh Shaikh, opened his shop Royal Button nearly six months ago. “For the past six months, Shahrukh had a problem with my business thriving, and it thrived because I’ve been here for 18 years. He has goons hired to keep an eye on me, he had previously trespassed into my house, and they follow me around. I’m living in danger, I’m worried about my life,” said Younis. When asked about the police station situation, he said, “I took my medical certificate which suggested injuries to my chest and with my pre-existing heart condition, I demanded an FIR against Shahrukh, but they ignored my requests and sent me back. I am helpless and alone, and if this continues, I may have to leave this city and go back home to Kashmir. In so many years in Mumbai, where all I’ve received was love and harmony and brotherhood, because of him, I may have to leave everything behind.”
J&K Students Association Writes To CM Shinde
A day later after the incident, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and the same letter was tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The letter stated that the attackers “motivated by prejudice, subjected Younis Rather to physical violence and issued threats aimed at coercing him to abandon his legitimate business activities in Mumbai.” It further said, “The assailants not only inflicted physical harm on Younis but also hurled derogatory slurs and insults at him based on his regional identity. Such targeted acts of violence and intimidation against Kashmiri individuals are not only abhorrent but also indicative of a dangerous trend that threatens the social fabric of our nation.”
