Srinagar, Oct 18: Karnal Police said the Control Room received information around 10 pm on October 17 about the smashing of bus windowpanes and a clash between two groups at Divine Star Hotel, under Butana police station.
A team from the police station reached the spot and found the windowpanes of a bus broken. Mohit, who was driving a white Maruti Baleno (HR05BQ2412), and his associate Sawan, both residents of Karnal district, were present at the spot and were taken into custody.
Preliminary investigation found that an argument over parking at the dhaba between the bus driver and the car driver escalated into a dispute, police said. It is alleged that Mohit broke the windowpanes of the bus and that a passenger was injured.
Police said the injured passenger and the youths were asked to lodge a complaint, but no complaint was submitted at the time. The two parties reportedly reached a mutual settlement, after which the bus left for Srinagar.
An FIR was later registered at Butana police station on a written complaint from the manager of the dhaba. The Baleno has been seized and legal proceedings are under way.
Police said that, going by the preliminary investigation, the incident resulted from a sudden dispute over parking and that no evidence has emerged of any hate crime or hostility towards people from a particular state or region.
They appealed to the public not to pay attention to rumours on social media or share unverified information.
