A Hindu family in Jammu has come forward to gift a plot of land to a Muslim journalist whose house was demolished by civic authorities a day earlier.

The Jammu administration had on Thursday demolished the home of Arfaz Ahmad Daing claiming it was built on encroached land, a charge the city-based journalist said masked revenge for speaking truth to power.

Gulvinder@rebelliousdogra, a social media user from Jammu, posted a video on X saying: "An exemplary example of HINDU MUSLIM unity in #Jammu. A Hindu family from Jammu has come forward and has gifted 5 Marlas plot to a Muslim journalist whose 3 Marlas house was demolished yesterday. The divisive communal forces cannot end the centuries old brotherhood in Jammu."

The video shows the handover of the plot, with the man gifting the land, vowing to stand by the journalist and calling the demolition “cruel”.

In the footage, he is also seen criticising the BJP as well as Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.

The family’s act drew praise across social media even as questions continued to swirl around the circumstances of the demolition.

Daing, who runs the digital news portal Nees Seher India, said he was bruised and taken to a police station along with his two brothers while the house was being bulldozed.

He said officials of the Jammu Development Authority arrived with four bulldozers and between 700 and 800 police and security personnel, which he argued suggested an ulterior motive.

“I was not allowed to make a phone call. I was bruised. I said if you have to destroy it, do it, but it is my job as a journalist to inform... allow me to do it,” he told reporters.

A video circulating on social media showed dozens of policemen monitoring the demolition and preventing him from doing a live commentary once the structure was reduced to rubble.

“They want to teach journalists and social activists a lesson, those who want to do their work sincerely. If you are a sycophant, you are safe, but if you show truth, this will happen to you,” Daing said.

An official maintained the house was built on encroached land and that the demolition was part of a broader anti-encroachment drive.

Daing, however, said his family had lived there for 40 years and had received no notice. He insisted the action was selective.

Commenting on the incident, Gulvinder@rebelliousdogra posted on X: “Team of 100s, fleet of JCBs, all this to demolish just 1 house! No this is not a demolition drive against the Drug mafia, an OGW or Terrorist, BUT A JOURNALIST. While most of the state land in #Jammu is encroached by BJP leaders, a common man pays the price for speaking truth!”

Civil society members and several local voices criticised the administration, questioning why Daing’s home was demolished while high-profile politicians allegedly occupying state land remained untouched.

Jammu-based lawyer Sheikh Shakeel said the drive would have had meaning if “big fish” were targeted. He urged the Jammu Development Authority to verify the legal status of BJP leader–turned–Ladakh lieutenant governor Kavinder Gupta’s house in Excelsior Colony.