AhlulBayt News Agency: The Uttar Pradesh Police are facing sharp criticism after a Muslim youth, who had recorded a video pleading for his life inside a court, was shot in the leg by the Special Operations Group (SOG) in Muzaffarnagar only a day later. The incident has again raised questions about police action against members of the Muslim community under the ongoing “Operation Langda”.
The shooting took place on Friday (21 November) in the Nai Mandi police station area. The youth, Chand Mohammad, had gone to court to surrender in an old case. In a video widely shared online, he sat crying in his lawyer’s chamber, saying the police wanted to kill him.
In the video, Chand Mohammad says: “I have come to surrender. I have done nothing wrong. The SOG team is waiting downstairs. They want to kill me. I have small children. Please save me. They filed a false case against me.”
Another video showed his lawyer, Aas Mohammad, making serious allegations against the police. He said the case against Chand involved an assault complaint filed in 2024 and that a surrender application had been submitted on 16 November.
According to the lawyer, the police kept delaying the surrender date by saying the investigation was still going on.
He said: “My client came to surrender because the case has not been proven, but the presence of the SOG outside the court was a threat to his life.”
He added that Chand had the right to surrender safely and that the police behaviour had created fear.
Despite these videos, the next afternoon police announced that they had caught Chand during a cordon operation on the Pinna bypass. They claimed he fired at officers, leading them to shoot him in the leg before arresting him. Police also said a pistol was recovered.
The police stated that Chand had seven cases registered against him in Muzaffarnagar, Kanpur Dehat, and Haridwar, including charges under the Arms Act and cow slaughter laws. They said he had been absconding in four cases and that a reward of ₹10,000 had been placed on him by the Nai Mandi police station.
Human rights groups and opposition leaders, however, say the timing and the videos make the police version doubtful. They point out that the man had already expressed fear that he would be shot in a staged encounter.
A senior local activist said: “The question is simple: if he was ready to surrender inside a court, why would he run away and shoot at police the next day? The video shows he feared exactly what has now happened.”
Opposition leaders have also accused the state of using police force against Muslims under the name of improving law and order. A member of a rights organisation in Muzaffarnagar said: “This is not the first time Muslim men have been targeted like this. Operation Langda has created fear, not safety.”
The UP Police have denied all allegations and said they acted according to the law. They maintain that the encounter was genuine. The matter is under investigation, and Chand Mohammad is currently in hospital under police watch.
The incident has intensified public debate on police behaviour in Uttar Pradesh, especially towards Muslim citizens, as questions continue to grow about whether the shooting was truly an act of self-defence or another staged encounter carried out under pressure from above.
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