Srinagar, Oct 18: The windows of a Srinagar-bound bus were smashed and elderly passenger was hurt Saturday night after the vehicle was attacked with stones and bricks at a dhaba in Haryana’s Karnal district.

The bus, with a Jammu and Kashmir registration plate, was on its way from Delhi to Srinagar.
The attack took place around 10 pm outside the Divine Star dhaba near Nilokheri, under the Butana police station of Karnal.
The driver of the passenger bus, Waqar alleged that the men who attacked the bus targeted it because of its J&K registration.
He said he had stopped the bus at Divine Star dhaba in Nilokheri, past Karnal, for dinner. “Some men were sitting in the parking area. A Baleno with a Haryana number was already parked there,” he said.
“About a minute after I parked, someone shouted from nearby, ‘Atankwadi, get your vehicle out of here’. I asked him what the matter was. He said, ‘Move it, quickly. You can’t park here. We won’t allow a vehicle from J&K to be parked here.’”
Waqar said the man then hit the front windshield and began beating him. “They first smashed the front number plate, then the rear one. Others joined in. They kept saying a J&K vehicle had no business in Haryana,” he said.
The driver also alleged that the men threatened the passengers. “They said, ‘We will shoot you, we will set the vehicle on fire, we will kill you”.
Waqar said “such hooliganism must stop”. “We want justice… We all use the roads. Vehicles from their side come to our region too. This only creates a hostile atmosphere for both sides,” he added.
Karnal police, however, said it was a dispute over parking, and the incident had nothing to do with any kind of hate crime.
According to Karnal police, police received information Saturday night about a fight between the driver of a bus and a private car near the dhaba. A team from Butana police station reached the spot and found the bus windows broken, he added.
In a statement, the Karnal Police said that on the night of October 17, 2026, at around 10:00 PM, Police Station Butana, District Karnal, received information regarding an altercation between the drivers of a bus and a private car near Divine Star Dhaba. Upon receiving the information, a police team from Police Station Butana immediately reached the spot.
“On reaching the scene, the police team found that the windowpanes of a bus had been broken. The driver of a white Maruti Baleno car bearing registration number HR05BQ2412, identified as Mohit, along with his associate Sawan, both residents of District Karnal, were present at the spot. Taking prompt action, the police took both individuals into custody,” the statement said.
During the preliminary investigation, it emerged that an argument had taken place between the bus and car drivers over parking at the dhaba which soon escalated into a dispute. It is alleged that during the incident, Mohit broke the bus's windowpanes, and a passenger travelling in the bus sustained injuries.
“At the time of the incident, no formal complaint was submitted to the police. It was reported that both parties had reached a mutual settlement, following which the bus departed for its destination towards Srinagar,” police said.
Subsequently, upon receiving a complaint from the manager of Divine Star Hotel/Dhaba, a case was registered under the relevant legal provisions at Police Station Butana, District Karnal. The police have also seized the Maruti Baleno car which was allegedly used in the incident.
Karnal Police clarified that, according to the preliminary investigation, no evidence has emerged to indicate any hate crime or any element of hatred or hostility towards people belonging to a particular state or region.
Adil Bhat, owner of Star World Ventures said that the driver informed him about the incident after a group of men arrived in a car and allegedly entered into an altercation with him.
Bhat said that the men abused and assaulted the driver before leaving the spot. He said they later returned on motorcycles and allegedly pelted the bus with stones, damaging its windows, while some passengers had stepped out during the halt.
Bhat said, the group returned for a third time and threatened that Jammu and Kashmir-registered vehicles would not be allowed to operate in Haryana. “This is Haryana. Kashmir-registered vehicles will not be allowed to operate here,” Bhat quoted the men as telling the driver.
He further alleged that a confrontation followed, after which police took some passengers into custody on allegations that they had attempted to attack the police. The passengers were later released, while the driver was asked to leave the area, he said.
A video purportedly showing the damaged bus and passengers describing the incident has also surfaced. In the video, a person alleges that the driver was assaulted, the bus windows were smashed with bricks and threats were issued against J&K-registered vehicles.