CORRECTS - Local Hindus assault Kashmiri vendors in northern India

CORRECTS DAY OF REPORTS TO THURSDAY, ADDS WEDNESDAY AS DAY OF INCIDENT, MINOR REVISIONS THROUGHOUT

By Shuriah Niazi

New Delhi (AA) - Amid heightened tensions with Pakistan over Kashmir, two Kashmiri men have been assaulted by local Hindus in northern India, media reports said Thursday.

The two men were abused, slapped and beaten with a stick apparently because of their identities in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state on Wednesday, before being rescued by locals, said a report by private broadcaster NDTV.

A video of the incident showing several men dressed in bright orange assaulting a vendor with a stick has gone viral on social media.

One of the alleged perpetrators remains on the run while police nabbed a second, Bajrang Sonkar, who local police said had 12 court cases against him, including one murder case.

When asked why they were beating the men, the two alleged attackers replied that it was because they were Kashmiris, reported local media.

Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, tweeted about the incident and demanded action.

A total of four alleged attackers have been arrested by police, local authorities announced.

Kashmiris have been attacked in other parts of India in the aftermath of a terror attack last month in Indian-administered Kashmir in which over 40 Indian soldiers were killed.