Police fire aerial shots after stone pelting by ‘protesters’ in Raika Bandi forest

Police on Monday stated to have fired a few aerial shots to disperse protesters who “resorted to stone pelting amid provocative speeches and sermons” in Raika Bandi forest (Bandi Ragoora) stretch along Sidhra in Jammu outskirts.

“Today, a police party from Police Station Bagh-e-Bahu, along with personnel from ITBP and Armed Police, was deployed at Bandi Ragoora to maintain law and order. However, despite repeated warning and persuasion not to carry out such a protest without proper permission, as the same was likely to create a law and order problem, one Talib Hussain and his associates began stone-pelting, with an intention to cause injury, obstruct police in its duty and disrupt law and order,” Police said in an official statement.

According to the Police, they (protesters) also started delivering provocative speeches and sermons. “In retaliation, police fired a few aerial shots. An FIR number 33/2026 has been registered at Police Station Bagh-e-Bahu and further investigation has been taken up,” Police stated.

A couple of locals, while speaking to media persons, stated that few security personnel, including senior Police officers, allegedly sustained injuries when the protesters, led by a leader from a mainstream regional party staging a sit-in and insisting for holding a candle march in Raika Bandi forest area, despite not having valid permission for the same, resorted to stone-pelting.

The Police statement, however, did not mention it (injuries).

Raika Bandi (Sidhra) forest stretch is the place which had witnessed an eviction drive on May 19, 2026 under a joint operation by the officials of Forest department, Revenue department and the Police.

“The affected families have been peacefully protesting here since the demolition drive. Today, that leader from a political party came here to stage a sit-in. He was claiming that he would hold a candle-light protest here. We were asking him to leave and not to vitiate the atmosphere. But he insisted that he would get permission to protest, which he did not get. Police and other security personnel were deployed in a large number here. Later the situation took a violent turn with the stone pelting by them followed by the Police firing,” one of the locals shared with the media persons. He asserted that they (protesters) all were outsiders and none among them was local.

“The inquiry officers besides the officers from revenue and forest department are there today to ascertain the facts,” he stated. As per officials, around 25 structures were demolished thus retrieving around 60 kanals of prime forest land in the anti-encroachment drive conducted on May 19.

However, the drive triggered protests by the affected families, mainly nomadic families, which claimed that the drive was “illegal as it was conducted without prior notices.” The families alleged that they had been living in the area for the last six generations and their names were there in 1952 voter lists.

The affected families had been protesting there since then. After the drive created a flutter, the J&K government also instituted two separate inquiries to probe into the incident (demolition drive).