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Jehangir Ahmad, sustained fractures and multiple injuries in the attack and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Himachal Pradesh

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A Kashmiri shawl seller was assaulted in Dehra town of Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district and later faced alleged pressure from local police not to pursue a formal complaint against the attackers, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association said in a statement on Sunday.

The victim, Jehangir Ahmad, sustained fractures and multiple injuries in the attack and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Himachal Pradesh, the association said. 

Ahmad was mercilessly beaten by extremist elements, threatened with death and told to leave the state, the association said, adding that this is the 16th such incident reported this year in Himachal Pradesh involving alleged targeting of Kashmiri shawl sellers. 

According to JKSA, Ahmad was prevented from selling his shawls, his belongings were vandalised and his mobile phone was smashed when he attempted to record the assault. A shawl seller in the area for nearly 15 years, Ahmad was not a newcomer and had lived peacefully among the local community, earning his livelihood with dignity.

The association alleged that despite the seriousness of the assault, the Dehra police station initially refused to register a First Information Report (FIR). 

JKSA further claimed that the station house officer pressured Ahmad to enter into a compromise, warned that he could be booked in a case instead and forced him to make a video statement declaring the matter settled. The victim, they said, was effectively being turned into the accused.

Terming the incident “deeply disturbing”, JKSA said it had taken up the matter with the office of the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, and with the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office, seeking immediate intervention.

Nasir Khuehami, national convenor of JKSA, said he spoke to Rahul Gandhi’s political secretary and to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s media adviser, Naresh Chauhan. “We demanded immediate registration of an FIR, arrest of the culprits and action against any officers found pressuring the victim,” Khuehami said.

Chauhan said the state government had taken cognisance of the matter. “An FIR is being registered, police teams have been dispatched and raids are underway. Strict and exemplary action will be taken. Such acts of violence and intimidation will not be tolerated,” he said, adding that the chief minister was committed to protecting the security and dignity of all citizens, including traders from Kashmir.

The office of Rahul Gandhi also assured support and directed the Himachal Pradesh government to take immediate action against those responsible, JKSA said.

However, the association expressed concern that directions from the top were not being implemented on the ground and demanded accountability within the police. “Turning a victim with fractures and multiple injuries into an accused is not justice. It is lawlessness,” JKSA said.