In late January, Scroll reporter Zafar Aafaq had travelled to Indore, Madhya Pradesh, to report on attacks on Muslim men by Bajrang Dal activists.
His report, published on February 4, 2023, highlighted that the police had detained the Muslim men but had not acted against the activists of the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and an affiliate of the Sangh Parivar to which the Bharatiya Janata Party belongs. The BJP is currently in government in Madhya Pradesh.
The report featured a response from police officials as well as the Indore coordinator of the Bajrang Dal. Aafaq had also phoned several other members of the Bajrang Dal, who did not respond to his calls.
On February 12, Aafaq was detained and questioned in a police station in Delhi by a team of the Indore Police. The police said they were investigating a complaint filed by a Bajrang Dal leader who claimed to have received death threats after the organisation had staged a protest against the film Pathaan. The police said one of the numbers from which the Bajrang Dal leader had received several missed calls was traced to an address in Delhi and they had travelled in pursuit of the caller.
This number had been given to Aafaq by the news organisation in which he was previously employed. Aafaq had continued using the number after he joined Scroll.
After it was explained to the police that Aafaq had called many Bajrang Dal leaders in Indore as part of his work as a reporter, the police allowed him to go. Nothing was seized from Aafaq during the questioning.
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