A Muslim couple in northern India faced Islamophobic hostility after purchasing a home in an upscale neighborhood. 

The couple, both doctors, were reportedly forced to leave their newly bought house in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, due to objections from Hindu neighbors over their religion. 

The neighbors argued that the property's previous owner, a Hindu doctor, had sold it to the Muslim couple without seeking their approval.

"This is a Hindu society where over 400 Hindu families live. We don't want anyone from the other communities to reside here," one protester told PTI news agency.

The protest, which began on Tuesday, saw the Hindu residents hold up banners asking the previous owner to take his house back.

The protesters said they had filed a complaint with the district administration and the local police over the Muslim family taking a house in the society.

"If one house is sold, others might follow, and soon the area could lose its character," another protester was quoted by the Times of India as saying.

Ashok Bajaj, who previously owned the house, told the BBC that the Muslim couple were not comfortable moving in after the protest.

"The controversy is changing the fabric of the city. Our intention was not to create any kind of unrest with this transaction," Dr Bajaj said. He pointed out that there was no law against this transaction.

The Hindu residents marched to the district magistrate's office and filed an objection to the sale of the house.

"We are talking to the concerned parties and trying for a unanimous, amicable solution to it," the magistrate, Anuj Kumar Singh, told reporters.

Human rights organisations claim that despite making up around 20% of India's 1.3 billion people, religious minorities have been subjected to escalating persecution since Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party took office in 2014.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom mentioned "severe violations of religious freedom" in India in its annual report, pointing to the destruction of religious minority' houses and places of worship as well as acts of violence against them.

Such claims have been refuted by the Indian government.

Human Rights Watch claimed in August that Mr. Modi had used anti-Islamic sentiments in over 100 of his campaign speeches during the general election in India, which he won for a record-breaking third consecutive term in power.