Srinagar, Feb 8 (JKNS): The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) has expressed deep concern over a shocking incident of violence and criminal intimidation reported from Naya Gaon, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Punjab, where Irfan Shalistani, a prominent Ladakhi vlogger and social media influencer, was brutally assaulted by a group of miscreants.
Association in a statement issued here to news agency JKNS said, that the attackers attempted to take his life, issued explicit death threats, and forcibly looted over ₹30,000 from him; constituting a grave offence of violent robbery.
The incident has raised serious concerns about public safety, particularly for young professionals, content creators, and individuals from border and hill regions who travel or work outside their home states, association said.
Following the incident, the National Convenor of the Association Nasir Khuehami immediately took up the matter with the Punjab Chief Minister’s Office, the Chief Secretary of Punjab, K.A.P. Sinha, and the Chief Minister’s Media Advisor Baltej Pannu, seeking urgent intervention and stringent legal action, it said.
Khuehami told the Chief Ministers Advisor that; Punjab has historically been a state where people from Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh; including Kashmiri shawl sellers, have been welcomed, treated with empathy, and embraced with warmth. It is in keeping with this tradition that the state must send a clear, strong, and unequivocal deterrent message that violence, intimidation, and lawlessness will not be tolerated under any circumstances, statement reads.
Acting swiftly on JKSA’s intervention, the Punjab Police registered FIR No. 0023 at Naya Gaon Police Station, SAS Nagar, under BNS Sections 115(2), 351(2), 191(3), and 190. A comprehensive investigation is underway, and efforts are being made to identify, trace, and arrest all those involved in the assault, it reads.
The Punjab Chief Minister’s Office has assured Khuehami that the case is being monitored at the highest level and that no individual or group will be allowed to intimidate, harass, harm, or threaten anyone from Jammu & Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh, it reads.
The Chief Minister further assured that Punjab will remain a safe, inclusive, and secure state for all communities, and that any attempt to disturb social harmony or target people on the basis of identity will be dealt with firmly and strictly under the law. (JKNS)
