‘Assault’ on Kashmiri shawl sellers in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh: FIRs registered, manhunt on to nab the accused

In the Himachal Pradesh incident, Superintendent of Police (SP), Bilaspur, Sandeep Dhawal said the FIR was registered on the complaint of Abdul Ahad Khan, a shawl vendor from Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. “Efforts are underway to identify the three suspects. CCTV footage from the Ghumarwin main market is being examined to trace the accused and the motorcycle they were riding,” he said.

According to police officials, the incident involved obstruction and assault of the vendor, during which his goods were allegedly damaged. The accused were wearing masks and arrived on a motorcycle. Only one of them questioned and assaulted the vendor, while the others were present. The injuries sustained by Khan were stated to be simple in nature.

A case was registered under Sections 126(2), 115(2) and 324(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigation is underway using both traditional and digital policing methods.

The FIR was registered after the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking urgent intervention. The association also urged Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to take up the matter.

The Haryana Police has also registered an FIR in the alleged assault on a Kashmiri shawl seller in Kaithal district. District police officials said that teams have been constituted to nab the accused.

The Jammu & Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) said they welcome the “swift and decisive action” taken by the Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in the matter. National convenor of the association, Nasir Khuehami, said that “after the issue was taken up with the Haryana Chief Minister’s Media Advisor, Rajeev Jaitly, we were informed that an FIR had been promptly registered in connection with the incident and that police teams have been mobilised to trace and apprehend the accused”.

“SP Kaithal Upasna informed the association that the case has been registered at Kalayat Police Station under Sections 196(1), 299, and 353(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Police teams were immediately dispatched, raids are being conducted at multiple locations, and the perpetrators are expected to be apprehended soon. The case remains under active investigation,” Khuehami further stated.

The association added that “the Haryana Chief Minister has taken serious note of the incident and has clearly conveyed that acts of harassment, intimidation, and violence against Kashmiri traders will not be tolerated under any circumstances”.

“The Chief Minister’s Media Advisor also assured Khuehami that strict and exemplary action will be taken against those responsible and that the state government is fully committed to ensuring justice. He further conveyed that the Haryana Chief Minister is committed to safeguarding the safety, dignity, and livelihood of all citizens, including traders, workers, and students from the Kashmir Valley who are earning their livelihood across the state. The JKSA also informed that another incident reported from Fatehabad district of Haryana is currently under active investigation. The Haryana Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has assured that an FIR will be registered in that case as well and that arrests will be made, ensuring that no accused will be spared,” Khuehmi stated in a statement issued this evening.

The JKSA reiterated that repeated incidents of harassment and violence against Kashmiri shawl sellers and traders across various states are “deeply concerning” and called for strict, time-bound, and deterrent action to prevent their recurrence.

A video purportedly emerging from Kaithal district’s Kalayat area showed a local man speaking in Haryanvi dialect confronting the vendor sitting on a concrete bench asking him to chant “Vande Matram”. The man spoke about the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh and asked the vendor to leave immediately, threatening to set him ablaze.

SP (Kaithal) Upasana told media persons that the police took “suo motu cognisance of the manner and registered the case immediately”.

In the Fatehabad incident, another video surfaced that showed a man holding a Kashmiri vendor by his collar and asking him to chant “Bharat Mata ki Jai”. A woman was also seen in the video trying to intervene and requesting the man to let off the vendor. Fatehabad’s SP Sidhant Jain told mediapersons that both the vendor and the man were brought to the police station and the man was counselled. He added that the police asked the vendor to file a formal complaint about the December 28 incident after which the legal action shall be initiated.