Indian police threaten to kill Muslim student activist after protest

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A 20-year-old Muslim student activist has accused police in India’s northeastern Assam state of assaulting him, hurling Islamophobic slurs and threatening to kill him after he participated in a demonstration against violence against women.

Sahil Khan, a member of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), said officers forcibly detained him in Guwahati on Oct. 13, shortly after he attended a protest organized by the Women Against Violence Collective, according to Maktoob Media.

Khan, a first-year university student, said police intercepted him and a friend approximately 200 meters from the protest site, initially demanding documents for their scooter.

Despite producing the documents, he said officers ordered him into a police vehicle without explaining the reason for his detention.

When he questioned their actions, officers allegedly dragged him by his hair, forced him into the vehicle and repeatedly assaulted him.

“Inside the car, they took me by the hair and assaulted me. They asked me why I joined the protest, as I am a Muslim. I was brutally beaten up by police,” Khan said.

He alleged that officers continued their abuse after taking him through the rear entrance of Panbazar Police Station.

Police personnel repeatedly addressed him as “Miya,” a term frequently used as a derogatory reference to Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam, and questioned why a Muslim was participating in public protests.

Khan said officers also threatened to make him disappear and kill him.

“One of them threatened my life and said, ‘We will make you disappear,’ while the other said, ‘We will kill you,'” he recalled.

“Is demanding justice for crimes against women a crime? Or is being a Muslim a crime?” he asked.

The activist said more than 200 people had participated in the demonstration, but police singled him out after the event.

His detention prompted fellow protesters to search several police stations after officers initially denied having him in custody.

Utpola Das, an organizer of the demonstration and SFI state joint secretary, said police eventually acknowledged holding Khan at Panbazar Police Station after protesters approached senior authorities.

She said officers initially justified his detention by accusing him of reckless driving.

Das also accused police of making communal remarks and questioned why Khan had been targeted because of his religious identity.

The demonstration had been organized to demand stronger action against violence against women following recent incidents in Guwahati.

Police prevented participants from holding a march, citing a lack of permission, prompting organizers to stage a stationary protest instead.

Khan was released around 9 p.m. after undergoing a medical examination, approximately 90 minutes after his detention.

Das said the protesters intended to pursue legal action, arguing that the incident raised serious concerns about religious discrimination and the safety of Muslims exercising their democratic rights.