Twenty-two Kashmiri shawl vendors have lodged a police complaint in Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district alleging that they were being prevented from selling their goods by local shopkeepers, The Indian Express reported on Friday.

The shawl vendors also said they were being pressured to leave Himachal Pradesh, but did not name any individuals in their complaint. They also claimed to have submitted their credentials at the Ghumarwin police station earlier this month before plying their trade in the district.

The police attributed the dispute to clashing business interests between the Kashmiri hawkers and local shopkeepers, organised as the Ghumarwin Beopar Mandal.

“We have received the complaint at Ghumarwin police station,” Bilaspur Superintendent of Police Sandeep Dhawal told The Indian Express. “A similar dispute arose last year between Kashmiri hawkers and local shopkeepers, who claimed financial losses due to the hawkers. No physical assault has been reported. We have requested the deputy commissioner’s office in Bilaspur to mediate and resolve the issue amicably. A meeting between both parties is expected within the next day or two.”

56-year-old Jabbar Kaka, a Kashmiri hawker from the Union Territory’s Kupwara district, said that he and his colleagues had been selling their wares in the town for almost 30 years.

“However, over the past two years, we have faced unexpected opposition from various sections of the local society, including shopkeepers,” The Indian Express quoted Kaka as saying. “While there has been no physical attack, we are being intimidated.”

Another hawker Mushtaq said they arrive in Himachal Pradesh in November, stay until March, and sell goods door-to-door and village-to-village.

A member of the Ghumarwin Beopar Mandal, speaking to The Indian Express anonymously, denied that the shawl vendors were being harassed.

“No one has assaulted the hawkers,” the shopkeeper said. “They buy their goods from Ludhiana and sell them here as ‘Kashmiri’ products. We are unaware of any formal police complaint filed by them.”

The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association on Thursday expressed concern over the alleged harassment. Its convenor Nasir Khuehami, who raised the issue with the Himachal Pradesh government, said he had been reassured by the chief minister’s office that “strict action would be taken against those responsible”.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti blamed “rightwing groups” for the alleged harassment and urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu “to intervene and ensure a safe environment for these traders”.

Kupwara MLA Mir Mohammad Fayaz said he had taken up the matter with Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, who assured him that the police would register a first information report in the matter.