The demolition of journalist Arfaz Ahmad Daing’s house in Jammu has triggered political uproar, allegations of selective action and renewed scrutiny of the region’s land-encroachment drives.

Daing, a Muslim journalist who runs the digital news channel News Sehar India, told The Telegraph he was bruised and detained with two brothers as police surrounded the Narwal site and barred him from filming while bulldozers tore down the 40-year-old structure. The Hindu reported that Daing said his previous home in Bathindi had also been demolished. He described the latest action as a “selective drive” and a warning to journalists who refuse to “toe the line.”

Senior lawyers Sheikh Shakeel and Zulkarnain Choudhary told The Hindu the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) had failed to apply the law uniformly. PDP’s Waheed-ur-Rehman Para criticised the “bulldozer practice,” while CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami said the reported absence of notice was “deeply concerning.”

The demolition also sparked rare cross-community solidarity. Daing’s Hindu neighbour Kuldeep Sharma gifted him a plot of land, reported NDTV.

“I will not let down my brother… I’m gifting him a five Marla plot,” Sharma said, adding that if Chief Minister Omar Abdullah “can’t prevent such demolitions, remaining in office serves no purpose.”

Abdullah struck back at officials, calling the episode a conspiracy to discredit the elected government. “No one supports encroachment on government land. But there cannot be a pick-and-choose approach by the JDA. I see a clear design to defame and discredit the elected government,” he said. “It is happening as part of a conspiracy. A particular community is being targeted.” He said he had asked the JDA for a full list of encroachments.

Former BJP state chief Ravinder Raina also called the demolition “selective” and pledged assistance to residents. “Our Prime Minister believes in giving houses to the poor, not demolishing them,” he said, adding that the Lieutenant Governor had told him no demolition orders were issued by his office.

In a written reply to the Assembly, the government said 16,212 kanals and two marlas of Jammu Development Authority land were under encroachment, along with eight kanals and 16 marlas belonging to the Jammu Municipal Corporation.