A mob in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore town on Friday tried to immolate a disabled man and run him over with a tractor as they suspected him to be a braid chopper, IANS reported.

The police rescued Waseem Ahmad, a resident of Baramulla’s Shrakwara area, and took him to a hospital in Srinagar. He is said to be in critical condition, NDTV reported.

The Superintendent of Police in Sopore, Harmeet Singh, said an FIR had been lodged against those who attacked Ahmad. “He was surrounded by a mob of 500-800 people,” Singh was quoted as saying by the Greater Kashmir. “They were trying to set him ablaze. Because of timely action by police, he was rescued and shifted to Srinagar in critical condition.”

Reports of braid chopping have stirred protests in the state. Twelve people were injured after security forces opened fire at protestors in Walarhama area of Pahalgam on Wednesday. On October 17, residents of Kupwara district assaulted a soldier, suspecting him to be involved in a braid chopping incident. There have been over 100 reports of such incidents from Kashmir so far, the police have said, adding that none of the women have submitted their hair samples to the police.