Six arrested after burqa-clad woman assaulted in UP's Muzaffarnagar

Six men have been arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman and forcibly stripping her of her burqa after she was seen with a non-Muslim man Khalapar area, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred on Saturday evening when the woman, who works for a finance company, was returning from Sujru village with her colleague, the police said.

Circle officer Rajkumar Sav told reporters, "A case has been registered under sections 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 191 (rioting) and 75 (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Six individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident. Further identification of the accused is underway with the help of CCTV footage."

Disrobing a young Muslim woman and swarming around her like a pack of hyenas. Disgusting, shameful visuals from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar.

pic.twitter.com/6ucH0rmWhO

— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) April 14, 2025

The incident came to light after a video surfaced on social media showing a group of men thrashing a burqa-clad woman and abusing her in public.

In her complaint, the victim stated that she was returning after collecting loan repayments on behalf of a small finance bank. She alleged that a group of youths stopped them in Khalapar locality, hurled abuses, beat her up and stripped her of her burqa. The assailants also recorded a video of the assault and threatened her, she added.

"I tried to explain to them that we were on duty and were returning to the company after collecting money from clients but they did not listen," she told the police.

The police said the remaining accused will be arrested soon and stringent action will be taken against all involved.