- Ayantika Pal and Rahul Saha were wrongly accused by Delhi Police cyber cell officers at a Noida petrol pump
- Officers mistook Rahul for a cybercriminal based on a mobile signal and name coincidence
- Ayantika recorded the incident and showed press IDs, but officers initially ignored their identities
On a humid Thursday afternoon at a petrol pump in Sector 38, Noida, Ayantika Pal and Rahul Saha, a married couple and dedicated journalists, stopped to refill their car. Both accustomed to navigating high-pressure situations in their work. But nothing could have prepared them for the ordeal that unfolded leaving them shaken and questioning the systems meant to protect them.
As they waited for their tank to fill, three individuals approached - Sub-Inspector Ritu Dangi, Head Constable Harendir, and Constable Amit from the Delhi Police's cyber cell. The trio, dressed in plain clothes, had their eyes fixed on 31-one-year-old Rahul. Without warning, Harendir grabbed Rahul's arm, accusing him of being a suspect in a criminal case involving cheating and conspiracy. "You're Rahul, aren't you?" the constable demanded, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
Ayantika, sensing the situation spiralling, pulled out her phone and began recording. "Who are you? Show us your identification!" she insisted. The officers, claiming to be tracking a cybercriminal named Rahul from Bahadurgarh, barely acknowledged her.
The officers coerced them to exit their car and began forcing Rahul into a private vehicle. When Ayantika resisted one of the male constables ordered the woman constable "kheecho isko peeche se".
Ayantika, stunned, produced her press ID, clearly stating that her husband is Rahul Saha, a Noida-based journalist, and they're both originally from West Bengal. "Please verify before you do this," traumatised Ayantika kept insisting.
But the officers pressed on, unconvinced, their actions fuelled by a flawed assumption. They had tracked a mobile signal to the petrol pump, and Rahul, by sheer coincidence, matched the first name and general description of their target. The interaction grew heated, with Ayantika's video capturing the chaos: fuel dispensers in the background, bystanders watching, and the couple's growing distress. "This is harassment. We're journalists, and you're treating us like criminals without checking who we are," Ayantika said.
Describing the fragility of personal security in the face of unchecked authority, Rahul and Ayantika told NDTV: "If we weren't from the media, we'd likely be in a jail cell right now, no questions asked. This is terrifying - how many others go through this without a voice?" Ayantika, still shaken, shared, "I feel traumatised and humiliated. We were just refilling our car, and suddenly saw my husband being manhandled. What happens to people who don't have press IDs or cameras to protect them?" She added, "I keep seeing it in my mind - the way they grabbed him, the way they dismissed us. It felt like we were nothing. If we weren't journalists, would anyone have listened?" Rahul emphasised the broader implications: "This isn't just about us. It's about a system that lets this happen to anyone, anywhere, without accountability. We were lucky to have our press cards and a camera. Most people don't."
The officers, after several tense minutes, finally checked Rahul's ID and realised their mistake. The Rahul they sought was a different man, from a different city, tied to a different life. SI Dangi, visibly chastened, scribbled a handwritten apology on a piece of paper, using the car's bonnet as a makeshift desk. It read: "SI Ritu Dangi, HC Harendir & Ct Anit, PS-Cyber, Shahdara misunderstood Mr Rahul Shah as our alleged person Mr Rahul and apologised on behalf of my team and in future this thing will not be done from our side." The note, riddled with errors, was a small gesture in the face of a profound violation.
The Delhi Police later issued a formal statement through Deputy Commissioner Prashant Gautam, explaining that the team was investigating a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating and conspiracy. They had tracked a suspect's mobile signal to the petrol pump, where Rahul's presence was a tragic coincidence. "No misbehavior or force was used," the statement claimed, adding that the team apologised and disengaged upon realising the error. An internal note was filed, with no further action planned.
But for Ayantika and Rahul, the incident was far from resolved. The video, now circulating widely, sparked outrage and raised critical questions. How could a police team, equipped with mobile tracking technology, fail to verify basic details before confronting an innocent couple? What does this say about the training and protocols of a cyber cell tasked with precision in a city plagued by sophisticated crimes? And most troublingly, how many others without the visibility of journalists or the evidence of a recorded video- face similar treatment?
