Muslim youth heckle female reporter at Jama Masjid, try to snatch her mic, accuse her of spreading communal disharmony

muslim youth heckle femalereporter at jama masjid while trying to snatch her mic

On 6th December, National News Hindi uploaded a video of their reporter Nisha Pal being heckled by a group of Muslim youth. The Muslim men abused her and accused her of “spreading hate” while she was recording public opinion. The exact date of the incident is unknown. The Muslim youth came and started abusing her when she was speaking to a man about the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh near Jama Masjid in the Red Fort area of Delhi.

How the confrontation unfolded

The video showed three Muslim men arriving on a single motorbike, none of them wearing helmets. They immediately began hurling abuses at the reporter. One of them attempted to snatch her microphone while another filmed her and repeatedly asked which media outlet she represented.

They accused her of “spreading hatred everywhere” and claimed she was “creating Hindu-Muslim issues”. One of them insulted her by saying she belonged to “a rubbish media outlet”. The person recording the video even threatened her with a police complaint as he told his associate to “call 100”.

More youth gathered and continued the accusations until a middle-aged local man intervened and asked them to leave her alone.

‘This is not the first time, I have ignored them’ says the reporter

Responding to the accusations and heckling on camera, Nisha said, “You can see how people like this often turn up and spoil the atmosphere. They verbally abuse us. I have no idea where they come from. They come here to trouble us and behave rudely. After abusing us, they accuse us of creating Hindu-Muslim divides.”

She added, “I am a woman. You can see it for yourself, so many men are misbehaving with me in full public view. This is their hooliganism. This has happened to me before too, and they have come again with planning.”

The channel uploaded another video where Nisha described her ordeal. She said, “In the video you saw, a few people approached me while I was taking a public opinion byte at the Red Fort. They began misbehaving with me, verbally abusing me, and snatching my microphone. You can see clearly who these people are.”

She added, “This is not the first time. Something like this has happened to me three or four times. They record my video without permission, upload it, and try to damage my image. They run a narrative and a propaganda that I am the one spreading communal disharmony. If they are abusing me like this, then what kind of violence are they spreading?”

Expressing fear, she said, “If something happens to me tomorrow, if they attack me, who will be responsible? We have often seen them carrying knives or blades. If they stab me, who will be held accountable? They all come from the same place. They come with planning about how to record me and target me. These things have been happening for days. I have been ignoring them for a long time but now it happens every day. They misbehave with my cameraman, they misbehave with me. You tell me, what am I supposed to do?”

Alt News’ Mohammed Zubair put a target on her back

This is not the first time Nisha Pal has been singled out by Islamist and left-leaning ecosystems. In May this year, Alt News’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair amplified her identity on X while quoting another propagandist, ‘Nehr Who’. The targeting began after Nisha questioned Muslim kids about issues such as the Pahalgam terrorist attack, Operation Sindoor and the Israel–Hamas war. A section of social media users objected to these questions, and their coordinated outrage turned into sustained attempts to vilify her.

Source: X

It is pertinent to point out that the Muslim kids who were being interviewed actually spoke in India’s favour. In such a situation, the only reason why her identity was broadcast by Mohammad Zubair is to potentially direct outrage against her (which, precedent proves, includes threats) and deter her from questioning Muslims in the future.

Growing hostility against on-ground journalists

Such incidents highlight a worrying rise in hostility against on-ground reporters, particularly those covering sensitive subjects. Nationalist reporters have increasingly faced intimidation, threats, and mob pressure while carrying out their work. Recently, during Bihar Assembly Election coverage, OpIndia’s ground reports also received threats and were accused of paying money to a local for making remarks against Osama Shahab, son of notorious former Siwan MP Mohammad Shahabuddin.

Similarly, correspondents from media outlets like Republic have encountered similar targeted aggression.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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