LUCKNOW: (Editors Note;With this report were are carrying two videos, one recorded by a citizen of the initial confrontaiton in which the Bhagwa flag can be seen along with the national flag. And the second a fairly extensive news channel report that confirms this.)
Muslims of Kasganj were celebrating Republic Day on January 26 by hoisting the Indian national flag hoisting program at Veer Abdul Hamid Tri-Crossing. Veer Abdul Hamid incidentally, is the Paramevver Chakra decorated martyr from Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh who demolished several Pakistani Patton Tanks during the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
This tri-crossing is located at the heart of a locality where Muslims and Hindus have been living peacefully for generations.
While Muslims were hoisting the tri-colour flag in a small ceremony with chairs and guests, , a group of boys suddenly appeared on foot and bikes to disrupt the event. These boys were not carrying out a tiranga yatra. You can see in the picture and the video, that these men, ostensibly from the Akhil Bharatiya Yuva Parishad, were carrying a saffron flag.
Muslims requested these boys to join their program and celebrate Republic Day together. They asked them not to disrupt the flag hositing and to join it together But the boys insisted that the ceremony be stopped, and uprooted the stand on which the Muslims had hoisted the tri-colour. The Muslims tried to reason with the boys even then, who were all not from the locality and outsiders. The boys wanted the Muslims to hoist the RSS-saffron flag. When the Muslims protested, the boys got violence, They slapped an elderly Muslim.
A scurffle ensued. The boys raised dirty abusive slogans against the Muslims. One of these being, “hindi-Hindu-Hindustan, K****Bhago Pakistan.”
The youth then left the place, so as per all reports violence did NOT take place at the Ceer Abudl Hamid Tri-Crossing beyond what has been stated above.
Instead another group joined the initial youth in another part of Kasgang, and this mob moved attacking thelas pf Muslims, torching trucks at Bilram Crossing. They attacked and looted Muslim shops. They had arms and were firing in the air, according to eyewitnesses. It was at this point that one CHandan Gupta was hit by a bullet.
Preparation for trouble had begun earlier, with a Muslim man driving from Aligarh to Kasganj being brutally attacked by a mob.
The saffron flag which the group was trying to hoist, is still there at Veer Abdul Hamid Chowk.