Clashes Erupt in Jammu's Kathua Over Attempted Mosque Demolition

After the authorities attempted to destroy a mosque that was reportedly constructed on government land, tensions in Jammu's Kathua district erupted, resulting in altercations that left about six police officers hurt.

As the first group of pilgrims left the twin base camps, Baltal in Sonamarg and Nunwan in Pahalgam, to make their way to the cave, the 52-day annual Amarnath yatra began in the Valley and skirmishing broke out.

Residents of the Kathua district's Nagri reported that early on Saturday, a group of officers arrived at Paddri to demolish a mosque, accompanied by a sizable detachment of security police.

"Bulldozers were brought in to destroy the mosque." However, many locals turned up to oppose the change. Although it was constructed piecemeal, the mosque's construction had begun about ten years prior. According to indigenous Gujjar community member Lal Hussain, "nobody objected to it all these years."

"People opposed the action and stopped them from demolishing the mosque," he continued.

According to an official, the police were forced to stop their demolition effort after being attacked by the villagers with stones. The official reported that five officers, including an officer, were hurt.

Videos showed the crowd pelting the police with stones and pursuing them across agricultural land. More guards have been dispatched to the area and are still stationed there. The government might pick up the demolition campaign again, the locals fear.

The head of the Dodhi (milkmen) Gujjar Association, Jameel Choudhary, claimed to have discussed the situation with Jammu divisional commissioner Rakesh Kumar and advised him to refrain from attacking the place of worship.

"The mosque was built illegally (on state land)," he informed me. He might be correct, I told him, but why focus on just one community? I informed him that we would willingly flatten the mosque if they destroyed even one of the several temples situated on state property nearby, Choudhary stated to The Telegraph.

Given that Gujjars supported the opposition party in the most recent Lok Sabha elections, he asserted that the drive appears to be politically driven.

The wounded police officers, according to officials, were treated at the district hospital.

A recent militant strike in the Kathua district ended in a gunfight in which two militants and a member of the CRPF were slain. The event also resulted in one civilian being hurt.

In Kathua, security personnel have carried out many search operations.

Under strict security, thousands of pilgrims began their journey to the Amarnath cave on Saturday.

Happy yatris to all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

The yatra linked to Baba Barfani's darshan bestows great energy upon Lord Shiva's followers. May his blessings bring prosperity to every follower. "Jai Baba Barfani," Modi wrote in a Hindi post on X.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.