After a First Information Report was filed against him at Sonipat’s Rai Police Station regarding his social media posts during Operation Sindoor, Ashoka University Associate Professor (Political Science) Ali Khan Mahmudabad was taken into custody by Haryana Police on Sunday, May 18, 2025.
According to Kapil Balyan, one of his attorneys, he was detained on suspicion of fostering animosity between various communities and jeopardising the nation’s integrity and sovereignty, among other offences, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. According to Mr. Balyan, a local Sarpanch’s complaint led to the filing of the FIR. He went on to say that the accusations against Mr. Khan were “frivolous,” and several political figures and former Army soldiers shared similar remarks on social media.
On May 12, the Haryana State Women Commission summoned Mr. Khan to appear before the panel, alleging that his remarks exposed issues like demeaning women in uniform, such as Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sophia Qureshi, undermining their positions as professional officers and misrepresenting the facts by repeatedly using the terms “genocide,” “dehumanisation,” and “hypocrisy,” and attributing malevolent intent to the Indian government.
In a public statement on May 14, Mr. Khan had defended the comments, saying that he had “exercised his fundamental right to freedom of thought and speech in order to promote peace and harmony and applaud the Indian armed forces for their resolute action”, adding that the “women’s commission, while overreaching its jurisdiction, had misread and misunderstood my posts to such an extent that they have inverted their meaning”.
Mr. Khan had claimed that his posts were “misread” and “misunderstood,” and that “this is a new form of censorship and harassment, which invents issues where there are none.” In a statement to the media, Ashoka University had said: “We have been made aware that Prof. Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been taken into police custody earlier today. We are in the process of ascertaining details of the case. The University will continue to cooperate with the Police and local authorities in the investigation, fully.”
While the senior police officers did not respond to calls, Moharrar Head Constable, Rai Police Station, refused to comment.
