Equally unsettling is the official silence that followed. Visual evidence and eyewitness accounts have been circulated widely, yet there has been no visible attempt to hold anyone accountable. This silence feeds a familiar perception: that the law bends when political affiliation enters the picture. For ordinary citizens, even minor infractions invite swift action. For organised groups with political backing, overreach appears negotiable.
Such conduct is not without consequence. Jammu has remained largely calm despite broader regional sensitivities, and actions that interfere with livelihoods or single out traders under the pretext of “checking” risk disturbing fragile balance. Law and order is maintained through restraint and clarity, not impromptu street interventions.
If this behaviour is allowed to pass unchallenged, it will set an unhealthy trend in future. Today, the target is small vendors. Tomorrow, it could be anyone. The administration must reassert its authority—clearly and publicly—because governance, in any form, cannot be outsource to street level bravados -no matter the flag they carry.