Umar Khalid claimed that he is not allowed to go out or speak to anyone (Archive)
New Delhi:
Former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, arrested under the strict Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with violence in northeast Delhi in February, told a Delhi court on Thursday that he was not being held allowed to leave his cell and that was a kind of “solitary confinement”.
Additional sessions judge Amitabh Rawat ordered the superintendent of Tihar jail to be present in court on Friday to hear the matter.
Umar Khalid made his presentations directly to the court via videoconference when he was introduced upon the expiration of his court custody in the case.
The court also detained the assistant superintendent of Tihar Jail for not activating the sound of the microphone when Umar Khalid told him that he wanted to speak to the judge.
Umar Khalid said the official told him that the microphone will not be muted if the judge authorizes it.
“If a sub-trial wants to say something, then stop silencing him and let him speak or tell us he wants to say something,” the judge told the jail official.
Umar Khalid claimed that he was alone in his cell and was not allowed to go out or speak to anyone.
“I have not been allowed to go out at all. I am alone in my cell. No one can receive me. It is practically a kind of solitary confinement. I am not well for the last three days. I feel unwell. This is like a punishment. Why Are they giving me this punishment? I reiterate that I need security but it may not be that I have to be in my cell all day, “he said.
He further said that on Wednesday he was shown an order approved by Additional Superintendent Pradeep Sharma of Jail No. 2, which said that Umar Khalid should not be allowed to leave his cell 24 hours a day.
“I request that that order be withdrawn. In the morning the superintendent of the jail came and asked the jail staff to let me out. I was allowed out for 10 minutes and then since he left, I have not been allowed to leave. allowed to leave. to leave, “alleged Umar Khalid.
When his attorney, attorney Trideep Pais, told the court that the prison authorities should not take adverse action against him for filing his complaints, the judge said: “Khalid should not be punished for filing your complaints. You should be careful of her. “.
On October 17, the court had ordered the superintendent of Tihar prison to provide adequate security in judicial custody.
The instructions were obtained in a request submitted by Umar Khalid seeking adequate security in the prison so that no one would harm him while he was in judicial custody.
Clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between supporters of the citizenship law and protesters spiraled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
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