Army Veteran Donates Land To Journalist Whose House Was Demolished By Authorities In Jammu Kashmir

By Mohd Ashraf Ganie

Jammu/Srinagar: An army veteran has set an example of religious harmony and Hindu-Muslim brotherhood in Jammu and Kashmir after he donated his land to a Muslim journalist whose house was demolished by authorities on Thursday.

Kuldeep Sharma, a resident of the Jewel area of Jammu, on Friday announced the transfer of his five marla (approx. 1362 sq. ft.) land in Amgrodha, Jammu, to the journalist Arfaz Ahmed Daing.

Sharma, along with his daughter Tanya Sharma, today visited the Daing family and handed over land papers and other legal documents to them. While both families were with moist eyes, Sharma vowed to uphold Hindu-Muslim unity in Jammu, which has been a hotspot of communal tensions.

“We heard about the incident on TV and social media. When we came to know that a journalist and his family had become homeless, we decided to give them land so that they could rebuild their house. This is a problem of humanity, not religion,” Sharma told ETV Bharat while sitting on the rubble of Daing’s collapsed house.

“Daing’s house was built on three marla, but we decided to give five marla of land to him so that his family can live comfortably and with dignity,” he said.

Calling the demolition of the journalist’s home a “conspiracy”, Sharma urged politicians to stop dividing the people. “If this politics continues, we will withhold our votes,” he said.

On Thursday, officials of Jammu Development Authority (JDA), along with Jammu and Kashmir Police, demolished Daing’s house despite repeated appeals by him and the family. The journalist later alleged that the action came days after he sought to link a police officer with suspected narcotics smugglers arrested in a major cross-border drug trafficking racket busted earlier this month.

Daing, who runs his social media portal, New Sehar India, alleged that JDA targeted his house for speaking the truth and raising public issues through his reporting. He also alleged that the JDA demolished his house after he spoke against the drug nexus in Jammu.

“My house was 40 years old; it was a selective action. Why was only my house demolished? Was only my house illegal in the entire Jammu? This is an attempt to silence independent journalism,” he questioned.

In response, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has denied the allegations of any “conspiracy” angle or “selective targeting” and argued that the house was built on state land.

'Is Religion Behind The Demolitions?': CM Omar

While the ex-serviceman Sharma received appreciation for the heartwarming gesture, the demolition action evoked resentment from people and invited sharp reactions from various quarters and stirred a political blame game.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today sharply criticised Raj Bhawan (office of the Lieutenant Governor) for the ongoing demolitions in several areas of Jammu and Kashmir and alleged that officers posted under it were deliberately carrying out operations without the approval of the elected government to defame it.

Omar’s assertion came after Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravinder Raina accused the elected government of ordering these demolitions.

“The officers appointed by Raj Bhawan without seeking permission from the elected government or the concerned minister are using bulldozers to defame and humiliate the elected government. This is a conspiracy against the elected government,” Omar told reporters in Srinagar.

The JDA’s actions, which were live-streamed by Daing on Thursday, created a wave of condemnation against the administration and sympathy for him. The JDA has not issued any statement on the issue.

Since Thursday, dozens of social and political activists have visited Daing and expressed their support for him. Netizens have donated money to his bank accounts for rebuilding the house. Among them, former armyman Sharma’s support stood out.

Daing's demolition came a day after the administration demolished a residential house and a commercial building in the prohibited area of Nallah Sindh in Ganderbal district. People's Conference president and legislator Sajad Lone had condemned the demolition and sought a review of the building laws in Jammu and Kashmir.

The demolition in Jammu was criticised by Mehbooba, who said these incidents are the “brutal consequences” of the NC government's decision to dismiss the PDP’s anti-bulldozer bill by branding these residents as land grabbers.

She was referring to PDP legislator Waheed Para's Jammu and Kashmir (Regularisation and Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Public Land) Bill, 2025, which he had submitted as a private member's bill in the assembly in October this year, which was rejected by the government.

“These aren’t the homes of helpless Muslim families in UP or elsewhere, where targeting minorities has become the norm. This is Jammu & Kashmir, where Arfaz, a journalist who built a modest home 40 years ago on 3 marlas of land, saw it being crushed to rubble in seconds. The NC government dismissed the PDP’s anti-bulldozer bill by branding these residents as land grabbers. Today, the brutal consequences of that decision are for all to see,” Mehbooba wrote on X.

BJP's former president of Jammu and Kashmir, Ravinder Raina, condemned the razing of the house, but Raina accused the elected government of the action.

“The Prime Minister has constructed houses of lakhs under the PMAY scheme. BJP is for building houses of the people, not for demolishing them,” Raina said, appreciating the donation of land by Sharma.

Raina also bailed out the LG from the demolition, saying he spoke with the LG, who denied having ordered the demolition of the house. “Jammu and Kashmir has an elected government. I do not want to politicise this demolition. And not speak politics here. I spoke to the LG, and he denied having sent any bulldozer here. On whose orders was this house demolished? You should ask these questions to the elected government,” Raina told reporters after visiting Daing.

But Omar dismissed the opposition criticism, saying the demolitions are being ordered by “those who appoint these officers” to “defame and humiliate” the elected government.

“The heads of these development authorities must be appointed by the elected government. But these officers are appointed from somewhere else, and they take dictation from there to conspire against us. This is being done to target a particular community,” Omar said.

The CM said that he has sought details from JDA about all houses constructed on government land in Jammu. “Was this the only house in Jammu which was built on JDA land? Was his religion behind the demolition? I have sought details from the JDA,” he said.

Reiterating his stand that the government does not support encroachment on government, Omar said, “Pick and choose policy” must be stopped, and the officers must desist from these actions.

“I would have taken action against the officer in case I had appointed him. I can sense a conspiracy from this. This is a continuous exercise done to humiliate the elected government because they can't digest our win in the elections,” he said. (With inputs from Mir Farhat and Javed Dar)

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