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Delhi police have invoked the strict Illegal Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against two Jamia Millia Islamia students who are in custody for allegedly plotting a conspiracy to incite communal unrest in Delhi in February.
Suspects Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar are in judicial custody in connection with the case registered against them in February. A senior police officer, who requested anonymity, said that when Zargar filed a request for bail, the police informed the court of the inclusion of UAPA as a reason to deny bail. “The two students have already been booked for sedition, murder, attempted murder, and promotion of enmity between different groups for reasons of religion and riots,” the officer said.
The Illegal Activities (Prevention) Act is aimed at the effective prevention of illegal activity associations in India. A person charged under the law can be imprisoned for up to seven years. Haider, 35, is a doctoral student and president of the Delhi unit of the youth wing RJD; Zargar is an MPhil student of Jamia Millia Islamia.
Akram Khan, a lawyer for Haider, said that UAPA has not been invoked against any particular individual. He said that all the accused have been added to the FIR. “We found out about this yesterday and will take appropriate legal action on the matter soon.”
