Police turned brutal upon knowing they were Muslims: Journalists allege assault for asking questions

Two freelance journalists, working for the popular YouTube channel 4pm News Network, alleged that the Delhi Police manhandled them for asking questions to Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and that the assault doubled down after their names revealed that they were Muslims, drawing widespread condemnation from political and rights groups, as well as the journalists’ fraternity.

In a video shared by 4pm News Network, journalist Shaheen Khan can be heard expressing her anguish over the police, who she alleged had taken her and her colleague to Saket Police Station on Thursday, September 3, while they were on assignment covering an event attended by Gupta and Shah. She alleged that the two journalists were dragged away after they asked questions to the two leaders.

The video also showed the bruises suffered by the two journalists, marks on Shaheen’s arm, while Nafisa Khan was seen in a semi-conscious condition, with red bruises on her thigh above the knee, apparently caused by a stick, as another woman attended to her.

“After assaulting us mentally, physically, they ask my name, and I say I am a Khan, my name has ‘Khan’ in it, and that is why Delhi Police officers have assaulted us, beaten us with sticks, slapped us,” Shaheen said in the video, while facing a police official.

In the video, Shaheen cried out over how ruthless the Delhi Police had turned out to be after they identified their Muslim identity from their surname, Khan. “In the name of ‘Musalman’, the kind of hatred inflicted on us today, Delhi Police, you will have to answer for it,” she said.

Images and videos circulated on social media later showed Nafisa being carried out of the police station by people known to her, apparently because she was unable to walk and another video showed Shaheen unconscious and lying on the floor of the police station.

Sanjay Sharma, editor-in-chief of 4pm News Network, expressed that it could be the result of the channel’s continuous reporting on the Delhi government and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta over several issues.

“Since when has asking questions of the Chief Minister become a crime? Since when has a journalist’s question become so dangerous for those in power? And can a journalist having ‘Khan’ in their name become a reason for assaulting them?” he wrote on X.

Journalists’ bodies, including the Press Club of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Delhi Union of Journalists, Press Association and Kerala Union of Working Journalists, condemned the alleged assault and demanded an impartial investigation. They also called for the preservation of CCTV footage and accountability of the police officials involved.

Digital news publishers’ body Digipub also condemned the incident, stressing that asking questions of those in power was fundamental to journalism and democratic accountability. Several opposition parties, including the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, also condemned the alleged assault and demanded action against the police officials involved.