Authorities in Jammu on November 27 demolished the family home of journalist Arfaz Ahmad Daing, days after he publicly linked a former sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Jammu (East) to a family accused in a recently busted cross-border drug smuggling case.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has denied that the demolition was an act of retaliation, while the journalist has maintained that the timing and manner of the action show he was “targeted for his work.”
The Jammu Development Authority (JDA) issued its demolition order late on Wednesday night, and heavy machinery was deployed early the next morning to raze the single-storied house in Channi.
Daing said the structure was built nearly 40 years ago by his father, Ghulam Qadir, on what is now claimed as JDA land. Although Daing acknowledged the land dispute, he argued the notice was wrongly issued in his name and alleged that the legal process “was ignored.” His family — including elderly parents, his wife, and three children — has been left without a home.
A senior J&K police officer dismissed Daing’s allegations that the former SDPO had connections with the accused family and said any internal issues between officers would be investigated.
The action drew criticism from Jammu’s civil society and journalist community.
Senior advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed questioned why other encroachments involving powerful individuals had not been addressed.
Journalist Zafar Choudhary said the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, should verify whether the demolition met legal standards and expressed concern that “bulldozer-style punishment” had become normalised beyond security-related matters.
The demolition comes soon after the police announced a major seizure of 3.26 kg of heroin on November 14 near Shastri Nagar. The accused were later identified as Karan Sharma of Jourian and Nilesh Verma of Udhampur. The operation was led by DSP Sachit Sharma, whom Daing praised in a broadcast on his platform, News Sehar India. In the same broadcast, Daing suggested that a local family accused in the case possessed wealth disproportionate to their stated income and alleged that the previous SDPO had not acted against them during his long posting in the area.
Sources indicated that Daing had prior disputes with the same family over a property he had purchased from them, which the JDA also demolished months earlier, citing encroachment. Police sources said Daing has been named in four FIRs since 2015 and that his house had once been searched in connection with a terrorism case.
A live-streamed video from the demolition site showed police attempting to stop Daing from filming before the footage was cut off. His father said the family had built the home decades before the JDA existed and alleged that poor families were being unfairly targeted while larger illegal holdings remained untouched.