Two women journalists allege Delhi police assaulted them at Saket station after event coverage

New Delhi: Two freelance women journalists have alleged that they were detained and assaulted by Delhi Police personnel after being taken to the Saket police station on Thursday. The Delhi Police, however, has denied the allegations, describing them as “factually incorrect” and “misleading.”The journalists, identified as Shaheen Khan and Nafisa Khan, were reportedly covering a public event in South Delhi while on assignment for digital news platform and YouTube channel 4PM News Network.Journalist Shaheen from 4PM news network today was reportedly targeted, roughed up, and treated with brutality by Delhi police officers while performing her professional duties on the ground. pic.twitter.com/eyZC0QdCMB— Shuja (@shuja_2006) September 3, 2026 According to the journalists, they were covering an event attended by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Union Home Minister Amit Shah when the incident occurred.The journalists alleged that police personnel asked about their religious identity and that they were assaulted after revealing that they were Muslims, India Today reported.Videos showing the two women displaying injury marks on different parts of their bodies have gone viral on social media. However, the allegations of assault and religion-based targeting could not be independently verified. Delhi Police has denied the charges, calling the claims “factually incorrect” and “misleading.” South Delhi4PM journalists Shaheen Khan and Nafisa allege they were detained and assaulted by Delhi Police at Saket Police Station after attempting to question CM Rekha Gupta. They claim the alleged assault intensified after police learned their Muslim names.Police deny… https://t.co/MQEs3KOrwU pic.twitter.com/8DaKbXkILj— Voice of Indian Minorities (@VOIM_Matters) September 4, 2026 A lawyer representing the journalists has also filed a complaint over the alleged assault. According to the women, they were attempting to question Chief Minister Rekha Gupta about an alleged “cycle scam” when they were stopped by police personnel.'Collar Se Pakad Ke Le Gaye': Bhuvan Bam Recalls Police Mistaking Him For Pickpocket In Delhi During Initial Career DaysThe journalists alleged that they were subsequently taken into a closed room at the Saket police station, where a woman police personnel in plain clothes slapped them and beat them with sticks.Delhi Police disputes accountDelhi Police, however, has disputed their account, saying the women were not detained for attempting to question political leaders. Police claimed they were removed after their scooter was found obstructing a designated VVIP security route, and they repeatedly refused to comply with security instructions. Police also said the women were not carrying identity cards at the time.Political parties condemn incidentLeaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have condemned the alleged use of force against the journalists and accused the government of failing to protect press freedom.The Congress took to X and wrote, “Such treatment of a journalist is absolutely unacceptable, and strict action must be taken against the guilty policemen. However, the chances of that are slim, because, in the BJP government, asking questions has become a crime.”

Two women journalists in Delhi alleged on Thursday that Delhi Police personnel detained and assaulted them while they were covering a news event in South Delhi. Delhi Police has not responded to the allegations so far. Dinesh Kumar, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Saket Police Station, declined to comment on the matter when contacted by Newslaundry.In a video posted on social media by 4PM News Network, journalist Shaheen Khan is seen at a police station, alleging physical assault and mental harassment. She also shows injury marks on the body of a woman colleague.क्या मुख्यमंत्री से सवाल पूछना अब इतना बड़ा अपराध हो गया है कि पत्रकार को पुलिस बेरहमी से पीटेगी?आज दिल्ली में 4PM की पत्रकार शाहीन के साथ जो हुआ, वह बेहद गंभीर और डराने वाला है.शाहीन दिल्ली की मुख्यमंत्री रेखा गुप्ता से सवाल पूछने की कोशिश कर रही थीं. शाहीन का आरोप है कि इसी… pic.twitter.com/KB3p3kGKDK— 4PM News Network (@4pmnews_network) September 3, 2026 Along with the video, 4PM News Network put out a post that read: “Has asking the chief minister a question become such a big crime that police will brutally beat up a journalist? What happened today in Delhi with 4PM’s journalist Shaheen is extremely serious and frightening.”The post went on to say: “Shaheen was trying to ask Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta a question. Shaheen alleges that Delhi Police caught hold of her at that point and took her to the police station while beating her. She also alleges that when police personnel asked her name and heard ‘Khan,’ the assault intensified.”4PM also suggested in its post that the incident may have been linked to her journalistic work.Besides Shaheen, journalist Nafisa Khan is also reported to have been assaulted. A person associated with the two journalists told Newslaundry that the incident took place during the inauguration of a new building at Saket Max Hospital, where the two had gone to report. Both were taken into custody from there.Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has targeted the BJP-led Delhi government over the incident. AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj, in a post on X, said: “Delhi Police have brutally beaten two women reporters for asking Chief Minister Rekha Gupta a question. Woman Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, this is shameful.”Former Delhi law minister and AAP leader Somnath Bharti wrote on X: “This is absolutely unacceptable. Shaheen, besides being a journalist, is also a resident of my assembly constituency, and I am deeply shocked by this development. I request the honourable Lieutenant Governor to intervene in this matter and fix accountability of the police officers involved. An FIR must be registered in this case, and action must be taken against the responsible officers who subjected a journalist to brutality while she was performing her duty.”The Indian National Congress posted on X: “The hooliganism of the BJP government and Delhi Police. When 4PM’s journalist Shaheen asked Chief Minister Rekha Gupta a question, Delhi Police detained and assaulted her. Shaheen says that when the policemen found out she was Muslim, she was beaten even more brutally. There are injuries on her body… the camera person is also lying unconscious. Such treatment of a journalist is completely wrong, and strict action should be taken against the guilty policemen. However, there is little hope of that, because asking questions has become a crime under the BJP government.”Our new project visits the landscape described in Vande Mataram as it stands today, to ask what has become of the country the national song sings about. Support it here.