By The South Asia Times

NEW DELHI -  Two Muslim women journalists have accused Delhi Police of assaulting them after asking questions from Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during press talks after an event, alleging that police picked them up and tortured them after officers learned they were Muslims.

The journalists, Shaheen Khan of 4PM News Network and freelance journalist Nafisa Khan, said they were reporting on an event at a private hospital in the Saket area of south Delhi when they were stopped by police and subsequently taken to Saket police station.

They alleged that officers physically assaulted them and subjected them to abusive treatment.

According to the journalists, the alleged assault intensified after police questioned them about their names and religious identity.

Shaheen Khan has said that after officers learned they were Muslim, the women were beaten and verbally abused. Videos circulated by the journalists and supporters showed the women displaying injuries allegedly sustained during the incident.

The allegations have prompted condemnation from journalists, political activists and opposition leaders, with press organizations calling for an independent investigation into the conduct of the police officers involved.

The Press Club of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Delhi Union of Journalists and other journalist organizations have demanded an investigation, saying allegations that reporters were assaulted while carrying out their professional duties must be examined independently.

Delhi Police, however, has rejected the allegations. 

The dispute has consequently become a broader debate over press freedom, police conduct and the treatment of Muslims in India.

The incident comes as authorities in neighboring Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, face renewed criticism over actions involving Muslim religious sites and public prayer.

On Saturday, authorities demolished a mosque located inside the Saharanpur Collectorate complex in Uttar Pradesh after a local court upheld the administration's decision that the structure was an illegal encroachment on government property.

Samajwadi Party lawmaker Iqra Hasan said she was placed under house arrest before she could travel to Saharanpur to meet officials and support residents seeking additional time to challenge the decision.

Hasan said local residents and political leaders wanted an opportunity to approach the Allahabad High Court but were prevented from doing so before the demolition. She condemned the action as “shameful” and said the matter would be taken to court.

Another controversy erupted in Moradabad, also in Uttar Pradesh, after police registered a case against Samajwadi Party district vice president Haji Mohammad Usman over his offering of namaz, or Islamic prayer, near the Circuit House.

The case was registered under sections 285 and 292 of India's Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, dealing with danger or obstruction in a public way and public nuisance. A video circulating online appears to show Usman praying beside a vehicle on the lawn or grounds near the Circuit House, while authorities have treated the incident as a matter involving the use of government/public premises.

The case has triggered criticism from Muslim groups and opposition supporters, who argue that the registration of a criminal case over prayer illustrates increasing restrictions on Muslims' ability to practice their religion in public spaces. 

The Saharanpur demolition is not an isolated dispute over Muslim religious structures in Uttar Pradesh. Authorities have carried out demolition or removal drives against mosques, madrasas and other religious structures in different parts of the state when officials allege that they occupy government land or violate construction rules.

For example, the Uttar Pradesh government said in 2025 that 20 mosques and madrasas along the India-Nepal border had been removed as part of an anti-encroachment campaign. Other mosque demolition disputes have emerged in districts including Sambhal, Lucknow and Varanasi.

Critics say these actions must be viewed against a wider political environment in which questions about mosques, Muslim heritage sites, religious conversion and public worship have become increasingly contentious. 

The controversy also comes against the backdrop of India's broader political shift under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has faced persistent criticism from Muslim organizations, opposition parties and international rights groups over the treatment of India's Muslim minority.

Muslims account for roughly 14% of India's population, making them the country's largest religious minority. 

For journalists, the Delhi incident adds another dimension to those concerns. If the allegations by Shaheen and Nafisa Khan that they were assaulted because they are Muslim are substantiated, the case could raise serious questions about both press freedom and equal treatment by law-enforcement authorities. 

Either way, the controversy has intensified scrutiny of the treatment of Muslim citizens and journalists in India at a time when disputes over mosques, public prayer and the use of state power against religious structures remain highly politically charged.