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When some BJP leaders extended a warm welcome to Faheem Nazir Shah after his return to J&K from Delhi earlier this month, it raised a question — who was this Kashmiri protester and vocal supporter of the government, and why were the leaders keen to meet him?

Five years ago, a 29-year-old electrician from Srinagar made the headlines when he set out on an 800-km march from Srinagar to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi but was detained in Udhampur. This month, he was back in Delhi, and in the news — he was allegedly assaulted during an Opposition protest over Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for raising pro-Modi slogans.

Faheem, who says he holds a postgraduate diploma in computer applications from Kashmir University, has repeatedly made public displays of his support for Modi. In 2022, he was in Delhi holding a banner criticising the Congress government in Punjab over the security breach during Modi’s visit to Ferozepur, when the prime minister’s convoy was stranded on a flyover for 15-20 minutes during a farmers’ protest.

Faheem first came into the limelight in August 2021, when he embarked on a nearly 800-km march from Srinagar to Delhi to meet Modi. He was detained en route in Udhampur.

The march, however, came at a personal cost. “Since then, much has changed. My mother disowned me after the police brought me back to Srinagar and asked her to take custody of me.”

He has not been in touch with his family since and has been living with a relative.

Despite his efforts, he hasn’t been able to meet Modi yet. But his support remains unwavering.

After the alleged assault, Faheem claimed to have met Union Minister Jitendra Singh in Delhi. He also met former Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina in Jammu. Both assured him of their support, he said.

Faheem denied any association with the BJP, saying he had never met its leaders before. Kashmir BJP spokesperson Sajiid Yousuf Shah echoed this, saying: “We too came to know about him through media reports about the attack by Congress workers”.

Raina said he met Faheem for the first time on Wednesday morning, when the latter went to his residence straight from the railway station. “I consoled him as he started crying after meeting me,” the BJP leader said.

Faheem says he has been receiving death threats on social media since the assault. “Ever since my return to Srinagar this Wednesday, I have not moved out of my relatives’ house due to fear,” he said, adding that he would approach the Director General of Police for protection.