India: Australian women cricketers sexually harassed on street; Mohammad arrested
Two members of the Australian women’s cricket team were harassed in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday, October 23, 2025, during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. As per police reports, the players were walking from their hotel, Radisson Blu, to a nearby café when a man on a motorcycle followed them, made lewd gestures, and one of the players was touched inappropriately. The players immediately alerted their team’s security officials, who, in turn, reported the matter to the local police at the MIG Colony station.
An eyewitness had noted the motorcycle’s registration number, which became a key lead in tracing the suspect. Using CCTV footage from the route and surrounding areas, police tracked the accused’s movements and arrested him within hours. The man, identified as Mohammad Aqeel Khan, a resident of Indore’s Khajrana area, was charged under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to outraging a woman’s modesty and stalking. Authorities said he had previously been involved in such offenses.
The incident involving international athletes has reignited a serious debate across India about women’s safety on public roads. For millions of Indian women, street harassment, commonly referred to as “eve-teasing,” remains an everyday reality. Women continue to face verbal abuse, catcalling, stalking, and physical intimidation while walking alone, commuting, or even attending school.
One of the most disturbing examples of this pattern came in 2023, when a 17-year-old Hindu schoolgirl from Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, lost her life after three Muslim men, Shahbaz, Faisal, and Arbaaz, harassed her. According to police reports, the accused followed her on a motorcycle, catcalled her, and pulled her dupatta, causing her to lose balance and fall onto the road, where a vehicle fatally hit her.
Initially, local police described it as an accident, allegedly to shield the accused, but public outrage led to the case being reopened. All three suspects were later arrested, and one was shot in the leg while attempting to flee. Several police officers were suspended for mishandling the case.
While harassment of women is an undeniably widespread problem in densely populated South Asian countries, it is observable that such incidents often occur more frequently and in extreme forms in neighborhoods or localities with a dominant Muslim population. Similar patterns have been reported in major cities across many Indian states.
Several reported cases in India highlight the roadside harassment of women that Muslims allegedly carry out. Recently, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, two Muslim youths, Suhail and Saif, were arrested for molesting women during a Dandiya-Garba event at a guest house in the Ramadevi area, making obscene comments toward female participants before fleeing the scene. In August of this year in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, Aadil Saifi was apprehended after groping a woman on a street in Gol Kothi Wali Gali; CCTV footage helped identify and capture him.
Such harassment has forced many to leave their residences to seek safety for the women in their families. Many Hindu families have been migrating from Kairana and Kandhla due to threats and harassment from Muslim residents, particularly of the girls in their families. As per a report that the the National Human Rights Commission published in 2016, dozens of witnesses stated that the youths of the specific majority community (Muslims) in Kairana town made lewd and taunting remarks against the females of the specific minority community in Kairana town. Due to this, females of the specific minority community (Hindus) in Kairana town avoid going outside frequently. “However, they could not gather courage to report the matter to the police for the legal action.”
Beyond harassment on the streets, there are instances where men from the Muslim community have devised calculated plans to target non-Muslim women, by taking advantage of public festivities or crowded events to identify and approach their targets.
On October 10, 2021, four Muslim men, Adnan Shah, Mohammad Umar, Abdul Qadir, and Syed Saqib, were arrested at a Garba event held in a private university in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, after members of the Bajrang Dal filed a complaint. During Navratri in 2022, multiple similar incidents were reported across Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. On September 28, 2022, several Muslim men were arrested in Indore for disguising themselves as Hindus, harassing women, and recording videos. On the same day in Ahmedabad, another group of Muslim men were caught attempting to enter a Garba pandal, despite announcements restricting entry to Hindus. Other similar incidents were reported from events in Jaipur, and Surat. In Bikaner, Rajasthan, on October 6, 2022, some Muslim men reportedly molested Hindu girls at a Garba pandal and stabbed a Hindu man, Madhusudan, who protested; three men, namely Shahrukh, Sameer, and Zubair, were subsequently arrested.
These incidents highlight repeated instances where women in India are regularly subjected to sexual harassment in public spaces, including streets and community events. Investigations into the identities of the perpetrators reveal a particular pattern, that the secular framework of India remains reluctant to openly acknowledge.
