Shahreyar Khan, a final-year law student and activist from Delhi University, has alleged that he was subjected to Islamophobic slurs, physically assaulted, and unlawfully detained by the Delhi Police following a confrontation at Law Centre-1 during the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) election on Friday.
Khan, a recent law graduate from Campus Law Centre, claims that he and several other students were targeted by police officers who allegedly used excessive force to disperse students after a scuffle broke out during student elections.
According to Khan, the situation escalated when he protested the mistreatment of students by the police, which resulted in his forceful detention.
Khan, alongside fellow students, was sitting outside near the gate of Law Centre-1, approximately 200 meters away from the election venue, when the police began forcefully removing students from the area. “The elections were over, and the police were heckling students aggressively,” Khan explained.
“I stood up and politely asked them to stop, but instead, they singled me out.” He added. “I asked them to talk to us properly, and we will leave. Don’t treat us like cattle—we are law students here.'” But instead of stopping, they targeted me.”
On this, a senior police officer, identified as DCP Manoj Mina, ordered his fellow men to detain Khan. “They looked at me and said, ‘Aao, tumhari netagiri nikalte hain,’ implying they would teach me a lesson for my intervention,” Khan recalled.
Following the DCP’s orders, two or three officers allegedly allegedly beat Khan. One of them used his boots giving brutal blows to his waist, neck, and legs. The assault was so severe that Khan briefly lost consciousness.
According to Khan’s detailed complaint, filed in Hindi, the police verbally abused him and his companions, using communal slurs during the assault. “They called me a ‘mulla’ and said, ‘Tumhare jaise kitne wakeelo ko theek kiya hai maine,’” Khan stated, alleging that his religion was a direct factor in the abuse he faced.
Arqum Illahi, a fellow law student and eyewitness, corroborated that Khan was specifically targeted because of his religious identity. “It was evident he was singled out because he is Muslim,” Illahi stated in a report by Maktoob. “They hurled communal slurs at him while assaulting him.”
Khan further alleges that one of the officers threatened him with an “encounter”—a term commonly used in India to refer to extrajudicial killings by the police—while making derogatory comments about his religion.
Another student, Annan, who questioned Khan’s detention, was also taken into custody. The two students, along with a professor who attempted to intervene, were unaccounted for over two hours before their location at Maurice Nagar Police Station was confirmed.
The detainees learned that their names had been entered into an “Unidentified Deceased Register,” a fact that has since remained unexplained by the police.
The Delhi Police, however, have denied all allegations. A senior officer stated that the matter is under investigation, refusing to comment on the specifics of Khan’s claims.
Despite multiple attempts by Khan and his supporters to file an official First Information Report (FIR) against the involved officers, the police have allegedly refused to register the complaint.
After initially detaining Khan and his companions at Maurice Nagar Police Station, the police later relocated them to Dwarka Police Station in the early hours of September 30. Khan and four other students were held for several hours before being released at approximately 1 a.m. the same day.
The group had spent a full night staging a sit-in at Maurice Nagar Police Station, demanding accountability and an official investigation into the allegations of assault and wrongful detention.
Khan claimed that despite his calls to emergency services (via 112) to report the incident, no action was taken, further complicating his efforts to pursue legal recourse. “This is about my dignity as a citizen and human rights. If the police, who are supposed to protect us, won’t register my complaint, where else can I go?” Khan asked, expressing his frustration.
Khan, who has long been active in student politics and is the state president of the student wing of Chhatra Rashtriya Janata Dal (CRJD), claims that his political affiliation may have made him a target for both the police and rival student groups. He mentioned that his activism for inclusive politics and opposition to right-wing student groups has positioned him as a contentious figure in campus politics.
He believes that his political ideology, which focuses on inclusivity across caste and religion, is a threat to the right-wing forces dominating student politics. “They don’t want this ideology in politics,” Khan said, referring to the ABVP, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which often supports right-wing policies. “The right-wing students and police were aligned in their actions during the elections.”
Khan pointed out that during past events, such as the Ram Mandir ceremony and Republic Day celebrations, there had been a noticeable “carbonization” on campus, which he actively resisted by organizing programs aimed at promoting inclusivity. One such event, titled “Jana Gana Mana,” which Khan Organized, ran for several days and featured prominent speakers like Sanjay Hegde and Shobha Gupta, focusing on “detoxifying” the campus from hate.
Despite the growing support from his classmates and independent student groups, Khan expressed disappointment in the lack of support from larger left-wing political organizations. “No left party openly came to support me,” he noted. “They came as individuals but not as an organized body.”
Khan is currently seeking legal action against the officers involved in his assault and unlawful detention. As of his latest statements, he remains determined to continue his protest and is planning to approach human rights organizations to further his fight for justice.
“The police are supposed to protect citizens, not target them based on their religion or political beliefs,” Khan said. “I will continue this fight for accountability, not just for myself but for the principles of justice and human rights.”
The incident has ignited a debate over the police’s brutal treatment, with students and activists rallying behind Khan’s demand for an impartial investigation into the police’s actions.
However, the police maintain their stance, denying all allegations of misconduct, communal bias, and excessive force applied on Khan. An internal investigation is reportedly underway.
