Srinagar, Oct 18: Haryana Police have detained two men after a Srinagar-bound bus was attacked with bricks and stones at a roadside dhaba in Karnal district, leaving an elderly passenger injured and the vehicle’s windowpanes smashed.
The incident took place on Saturday night at Divine Star Dhaba near Nilokheri, along the Delhi-Srinagar National Highway, under the jurisdiction of Butana police station. Police said a preliminary investigation indicated that an argument over parking between the bus driver and a car driver had escalated into a clash.
According to Karnal Police, a team reached the spot after receiving information around 10 pm on October 17 and found the bus with its windowpanes broken. Two men, identified as Mohit, the driver of a Maruti Baleno, and his associate Sawan, both residents of Karnal district, were taken into custody. The car was also seized.
Police said an FIR was subsequently registered at Butana police station on a written complaint by the dhaba manager, and legal proceedings were underway. They added that no complaint had initially been submitted by the parties and that they had reportedly reached a mutual settlement before the bus left for Srinagar.
The police said the preliminary investigation pointed to a sudden dispute over parking and that no evidence had emerged of a hate crime or hostility towards people from a particular state or region. They appealed to the public not to circulate unverified information on social media.
The bus, operated by Star World Ventures, had left Delhi around 4 pm on Saturday with approximately 40 passengers on board. Its owner, Adil Bhat, told Rising Kashmir that the vehicle had stopped at the dhaba for dinner when an argument broke out between the driver and two men who had arrived in a car.
Bhat alleged that the men initially left after the altercation but returned on a motorcycle and began smashing the bus windows with bricks. He said an elderly passenger inside the vehicle sustained injuries. He also alleged that the bus was targeted because it was registered in Jammu and Kashmir.
The bus reportedly resumed its journey around 3 am on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Office of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took up the incident with the Haryana government, expressing concern over the safety and well-being of the passengers.
In a post on X, Omar said the incident should never have happened and expressed hope that Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and the state police would ensure appropriate action against those responsible to prevent similar incidents.
The Chief Minister’s Office said the Haryana administration had assured prompt and stringent action in accordance with the law. It added that the Jammu and Kashmir government was standing with the affected passengers and closely monitoring the situation.
Several political leaders and organisations in Jammu and Kashmir condemned the incident and called for action against those responsible.
Those expressing concern included Peoples Conference president Sajad Lone, PDP MLA Waheed Para, J&K BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur, Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari, CPI(M) MLA M.Y. Tarigami, the Awami Ittehad Party, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam Farooqi.
The incident sparked concern over passenger safety, while police maintained that the available preliminary findings pointed to a parking dispute rather than a targeted hate crime.
