Shahzeen Khan, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: Shahreyar Khan, a final-year law student and active member of the student wing of the Rashtriya Janata Dal Party (RJD), alleged that he was violently detained and assaulted by the Delhi Police during the recent Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections.
The purported incident occurred on September 27 near the Law Centre-1 gate at DU campus, where tensions escalated between student candidates and the police.
According to Khan, a group of students, including his juniors and classmates, were peacefully seated about 200 meters from the polling site when the police began “harassing” them. “The police were aggressive, asking students to leave. The did so with force,” he stated. Khan intervened, urging the officers to refrain from using excessive force, explaining that the students were not causing any trouble.
In response, senior police officer allegedly ordered his men to detain Khan. “They looked at me and said ‘Aao, tumhari netagiri nikalte hain (Come, let’s take out your leadership (or political behavior)’, implying they would teach me a lesson for intervening,” Khan recalled.
Following this, he claims he was physically assaulted, with one officer reportedly using his boots to deliver brutal blows to Khan’s waist, neck and legs. The assault was so severe that he briefly lost consciousness.
He further alleged that communal slurs were directed at him, with one officer reportedly stating, “Mulle ko thik karo. Tumhare jaise kitne wakeelon ko thik kiya hai maine, tum toh fir bhi abhi student ho (let’s fix this Muslim. I have dealt with many lawyers like you; you’re still just a student).”
Khan asserts that his religion was a direct factor in the abuse he faced.
Arqum Ilahi, a fellow law student and eyewitness, corroborated Khan’s account, stating he was specifically targeted due to his religious identity. “It was evident that he was singled out because of his religious identity,” he said. “They hurled communal slurs at him while assaulting him.”
Khan further alleged 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.
One of Khan’s friends, Annan, who witnessed the assault and attempted to intervene, was also detained. The two were forced into a police vehicle parked several hundred meters away and held there for nearly two hours, during which Khan’s phone was allegedly confiscated.
Khan’s professor, Krishna Murari Yadav, arrived at the scene to inquire about former’s detention. However, when he questioned the police, he too was detained.
Yadav was placed in the van alongside Khan and taken to the police station. “They even asked whether he was a permanent or contractual professor,” Khan noted.
The group was later taken to Maurice Nagar Police Station, where they found their names listed in the Unidentified Deceased Register — an allegation the police did not explain.
Fearing for their safety, Khan’s professor went live on Instagram to garner support from fellow students and the public.
Later that night, Khan and other students staged a sit-in at the police station, demanding accountability from the officers involved. DCP Manoj Mina eventually arrived but allegedly dismissed their concerns, further escalating tensions.
As the night wore on, the police detained Khan and four others, transferring them to Dwarka Police Station, where they were held for approximately three hours before being released around 1 a.m. on September 30.
Despite their repeated pleas for justice, the police reportedly refused to register Khan’s complaint regarding the alleged assault. “This is about my dignity as a citizen and human rights,” Khan emphasised. “If they don’t register my complaint, where will I go?”
Khan expressed frustration with the alleged lack of support from police authorities, stating he has little hope for justice. “Fed up with the police department’s approach, I have approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to file a complaint about police brutality and their bias in not registering an FIR against their officers,” he said.
Khan, who has been active in student politics and is the state president of the Chhatra Rashtriya Janata Dal (CRJD), believes 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 his political ideology, which emphasises inclusivity across caste and religion, poses a threat to the right-wing forces dominating student politics. “They don’t want this ideology in politics,” he said, referring to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). “The right-wing students and the police were aligned in their actions during the elections.”
He also pointed out that during past events, such as the Ram Mandir ceremony and Republic Day celebrations, there had been a noticeable “polarisation” on campus, which he actively resisted by organising programs aimed at promoting inclusivity. One such event, titled ‘Jana Gana Mana’, ran for several days and featured prominent speakers like Sanjay Hegde and Shobha Gupta, focusing on “detoxifying” the campus from hate.
“They want only the ABVP or RSS patrons to engage in politics. They do not want any ideological confrontation to their narrative,” he remarked.
In the wake of the incident, Khan clarified that he believes the assault stemmed from his political activism rather than solely his religious identity. “I wasn’t abused because I am Muslim, but because I lead a national student block and advocate for inclusive politics,” he explained.
Khan, a history and political science student, has vowed to pursue justice. “Just because this is against their own officers, they are not registering my complaint,” he asserted. (Shahryar complaint)
Commenting on the allegation, the Delhi Police stated the matter is under investigation. The incident has sparked outrage among students, many of whom are calling for an inquiry into the alleged police’s treatment of the student activist.