India, Feb. 11 -- In recent months, Uttar Pradesh has been in the news for troubling reasons. The latest incident comes from Bareilly, where police detained 12 Muslim men for offering namaaz (prayers) inside a private home, with the permission of the homeowner. Citing Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Surakhsha Sanhita (which permits warrantless arrests on suspicion of a serious offence) the police justified the action on grounds of "public order" after a secretly recorded video of the prayers surfaced on social media. Evidence pointing to intent or actual threat to public order, however, remains absent.

In September 2025, a controversy began in Kanpur, where police filed FIRs against citizens displaying banners reading "I love Muhamm...