KNS Special Correspondent

Srinagar, Oct 18 (KNS) : Two persons were detained and an FIR registered after a dispute involving a car and a Srinagar-bound private bus escalated into violence in Haryana’s Karnal district, leaving a passenger injured and the bus’s windowpanes damaged, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place around 10 pm on Saturday near Divine Star Dhaba in the Butana area of Karnal district. According to police, the altercation began over a parking dispute and escalated, with one of the accused allegedly damaging the bus’s windowpanes.

The two detained persons have been identified as Mohit, who was driving a white Maruti Baleno, and Saawan, a resident of Karnal district, police said. The car, bearing registration number HR05BQ2412, has also been taken into custody.

A police team reached the spot after receiving information about the incident and found the bus’s windowpanes damaged, a police official said.

No formal complaint was lodged initially as the parties told police that they had reached a compromise, following which the bus resumed its journey towards Srinagar.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelAn FIR was subsequently registered at Butana police station on the basis of a complaint by the manager of Divine Star Hotel/Dhaba, police said.

Police maintained that the incident arose from a spontaneous dispute and had no hate-crime angle. They also appealed to the public not to believe rumours circulating on social media.

The bus, operated by Star World Ventures and carrying around 40 passengers, was travelling from Delhi to Srinagar when the incident occurred. An elderly passenger from Kashmir was reportedly injured in the incident.

Earlier, the bus operator had alleged that a group of men assaulted the driver, pelted the vehicle with stones and threatened that vehicles registered in Jammu and Kashmir would not be allowed to operate in Haryana.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also took up the matter with the Haryana government, which assured prompt and stringent action in accordance with the law. The Chief Minister’s Office said the J&K government was closely monitoring the situation.

Police said further legal proceedings were underway. (KNS)