Two Kashmiri vendors were allegedly harassed and threatened with dire consequences in separate incidents in Haryana over the past two days. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered in one of the incidents.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, Iltija Mufi, has posted the over one-minute video from Haryana’s Kaithal on her official X account, tagging Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini and Director General of Police demanding them to take cognisance of the incident. “A Kashmiri shawl vendor is yet again harassed, abused and heckled in Haryana. You abuse and misbehave with Kashmiris and then conveniently dub them as ‘anti-nationals’ all in the same breath. Are we subhuman?,” read the post two days ago.
In the video emerging from Kaithal’s Kalayat, a local man speaking in Haryanvi dialect is heard confronting the vendor sitting on a concrete bench asking him to chant “Vande Matram”. The man, yet to be identified, talks about the atrocities against the Hindus in Bangladesh and asks the vendor to leave immediately; threatening to set him ablaze.
Superintendent of Police, Kaithal, Upasana told The Hindu over phone that the police took suo motu cognisance of the matter to register a case two days ago and efforts were on to identify the accused, who was not seen in the video.
In a similar incident, a man, in another video, is seen holding a Kashmiri vendor by his collar in Haryana’s Fatehabad asking him to chant “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. A woman is also seen in the video trying to intervene and reason with the man to let off the vendor.
Fatehabad SP, Siddhant Jain said both, the vendor and the man, were brought to the police station and the man was “counselled”. “We have asked the vendor to file a formal complaint to initiate legal action,” said Mr. Jain. He said the incident took place on December 28.
Published – December 29, 2025 08:58 pm IST
