Gurgaon (India), August 20, 2021 (PPI-OT):A Kashmiri youth was beaten by a group of six unidentified men outside his office in Gurgaon area of the Indian state of Haryana. 22-year-old Tariq Butt from north Kashmir’s Handwara town, who works in a corporate company in Gurgaon, told media men in Srinagar over phone that he was leaving for his home when the six men dressed in formal clothes held him from behind.

While some of them held his hands and mouth, others closed his eyes and dragged him to a nearby park in the same area that was isolated at that time, he said. “They took me behind the trees and started beating me continuously,” he said.

After continuously requesting the unknown men to let him go, Tariq said that one of them tried to stab him with a sharp object but failed and in turn tore his shirt. “They continued to beat me for a long time without saying a word. I kept asking them what had I done, but there was no reply,” he added.

When Tariq felt that there was no way of escaping, he said that he started to scream for help. Soon two Muslim men came running toward him and brought him back to the office. “Then I fell unconscious. I have no idea about what happened after that,” he said.

Tariq said he is the sole breadwinner for his family. “I am feeling insecure and I am not sure what will happen with me,” he said. Tariq was taken to a hospital where the doctors, he said, refused to treat him and referred him to another hospital for X-Ray. “I feel like the bones of my chest are broken and my head feels swollen. I was bleeding on my back. They attempted to kill me but God saved me,” he said.

A day before the incident, Tariq had a brief argument with a colleague in his office who had warned him to never speak in a loud tone, he said. “I don’t know who they were but I have a feeling that they were from my office. I haven’t complained to the police yet but I want to file a complaint because I feel unsafe or they should provide me some security,” he said. “I want the police to intervene in this.”

Nasir Khuehami, a student activist and spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association who had first flagged Tariq’s case on Twitter, urged the authorities of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to intervene and take action in the case.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
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