Gurugram: Two separate incidents of harassment targeting Kashmiri vendors in Haryana’s Fatehabad and Kaithal districts have sparked controversy, with police investigations now underway following the circulation of videos on social media.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, Iltija Mufti has shared the Kaithal video on her social media X asking Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and DGP O. P. Singh to take action.
In Fatehabad’s Hans Colony on Sunday afternoon, a Kashmiri vendor selling winter clothing was accosted by a local resident who physically assaulted him for refusing to chant “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” (Victory to Mother India).
Two videos from the incident have emerged. In the first 16-second clip, a man wearing a red and black jacket blocks the vendor’s cart, and starts abusing and threatening him.
A second 36-second video shows the local resident grabbing the vendor by the collar and demanding he chant the slogan “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”.
Some women from the neighbourhood intervened, with one telling the aggressor that grabbing the vendor’s collar was wrong. The local man responded by threatening to beat the vendor if he refused to comply. Other residents eventually arrived and persuaded him to let the vendor go.
Fatehabad SP Siddhant Jain told ThePrint Monday that the Kashmiri youth has told the police he will submit a formal complaint, adding that a detailed inquiry is being conducted and legal action will follow.
Kaithal incident
A video that went viral and was also shared by Iltija Mufti on her X account tagging Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini and the DGP O. P. Singh showed the vendor citing his Muslim faith and Islamic principles as reasons for declining to chant “Vande Mataram”.
The person filming the video referred to violence against Hindus in Bangladesh and threatened the vendor, asking him to leave or face consequences.
The person goes to the extent of threatening the vendor with being burnt alive if he did not leave immediately.
“Tell all your fellow vendors that Muslims should not venture into this village ever again. Or else, I will set some of them on fire,” the person is heard telling the Kashmiri vendor.
The video showed the vendor trying to explain to the person that Bangladesh is a separate country while Kashmir is part of India.
However, the person forced the vendor to pack up and leave.
Kaithal SP Upasana told ThePrint that an FIR was registered at Kalayat Police Station on 27 December against unidentified individuals.
She said that the police were working to identify the accused and assured action by the evening.
Demanding swift action, Iltija Mufti wrote on X: “A Kashmiri shawl vendor is yet again harassed, abused & heckled in Haryana. You abuse & misbehave with Kashmiris & then conveniently dub them as ‘anti nationals’ all in the same breath. Are we sub human?”
A Kashmiri shawl vendor is yet again harassed, abused & heckled in Haryana. You abuse & misbehave with Kashmiris & then conveniently dub them as ‘anti nationals’ all in the same breath. Are we sub human? Request @NayabSainiBJP @cmohry @DGPHaryana to take cognisance of this… pic.twitter.com/t3aOqCtHww
— Iltija Mufti (@IltijaMufti_) December 27, 2025
A Haryana Police spokesperson in Panchkula told ThePrint that such incidents are completely unacceptable and appropriate legal action would be taken.
Both cases have raised concerns over the treatment of Kashmiri traders working in other states and the use of slogans to intimidate minorities.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)