Jammu Journalist’s House Demolished; Authorities Claim Illegal Construction on State Land
Critics have pointed out that such actions in J&K — including recent drives in the Kangan area of Ganderbal district — are frequently nit-picked for inadequate prior notice and lack of rehabilitation measures for affected families
SRINAGAR: The Jammu Development Authority (JDA), backed by a heavy police contingent, on Thursday demolished the residential house of local journalist Arfaz Ahmed Daing. Officials maintained that the structure was illegally built on state land and the action was taken as part of an ongoing anti-encroachment drive.
The demolition has triggered widespread anger on social media, with many calling it a devastating blow to a journalist who had invested years of savings and hard work into building his family home. Videos circulating online show bulldozers reducing the house to rubble within hours. Daing, a freelance journalist known for covering social, political and human-rights issues in Jammu and Kashmir, alleged the JDA action was a targeted move.
However, the JDA stated that the demolition was part of a major anti-encroachment drive to retrieve illegally occupied state land. JDA officials maintained the actions follow due process and are free of bias.
Critics have pointed out that such actions in J&K — including recent drives in the Kangan area of Ganderbal district — are frequently nit-picked for inadequate prior notice and lack of rehabilitation measures for affected families.
Thursday’s incident comes just days after the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of J&K Police raided the Jammu office of the Kashmir Times and the residence of its owner, Prabodh Jamwal, in City’s Gandhi Nagar. The raids were part of a probe into alleged “criminal conspiracy with secessionist and anti-national entities.”
During the searches, the SIA claimed to have recovered arms and ammunition, including one revolver, 14 empty AK-series cartridges, three live AK rounds, four fired bullets, three grenade safety levers and several suspected pistol rounds.
Kashmir Times Executive Editor Anuradha Bhasin strongly condemned the raids, terming them a “witch-hunt” aimed at silencing the newspaper. In a post on ‘X’, she wrote: “We are being targeted precisely because we continue to do this work. SIA Raids: Another Attempt to Silence Us.” She also rejected the police claim of recovering weapons, alleging that authorities were attempting to falsely implicate the newspaper and its staff in order to suppress dissent.
Activists and press freedom organisations have called for transparency, due process and an immediate end to what they describe as systematic intimidation of journalists in J&K. The Press Club of India in a strong statement while expressing deep concern over the raid on the Kashmir Times described it as a troubling escalation in the pressures faced by media outlets in J&K. "The raid on the Kashmir Times office is deeply troubling and raises concerns about increasing pressure on media outlets in Jammu and Kashmir," a statement issued by it said, echoing sentiments from global watchdogs like the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
However, the SIA said that the searches conducted in presence of the Executive Magistrate were in continuation of the investigation into the case registered against the media house “for their involvement in criminal conspiracy with secessionist and other anti-national entities operating within and outside Jammu & Kashmir.”
It added that an FIR registered earlier indicated that this particular media platform has allegedly been “disseminating terrorist and secessionist ideology, spreading inflammatory, fabricated and false narratives, attempting to radicalise the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, inciting disaffection and separatist sentiments, disturbing peace and public order, and challenging the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India through print and digital content.”