Delhi police arrested former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid under the Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act for instigating riots in northeast Delhi that broke out in February this year.
“Khalid was one of the main conspirators in riots in which 53 people died and more than 400 were injured,” the special cell of Delhi Police said after the arrest.
The former JNU academic has been questioned twice by the police in the past two months over speeches he made at the Shaheen Bagh protest site. According to the police, Khalid had planned the riots with former AAP councilor Tahir Hussain.
Khalid was charged with sedition and arrested also in February 2016, for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans inside the JNU campus along with former student union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others.
“We arrested Umar Khalid on Sunday night,” said a senior police officer associated with the investigation, who asked not to be named.
On August 3, the suspended AAP councilor allegedly confessed to his crime and told the police that he had been tasked with collecting as many glass bottles, gasoline, acid and stones as possible during the violence.
Community violence erupted in Delhi between anti-AAC and pro-AAC protesters in February this year. Hundreds of people were arrested in connection with the violence and the police were criticized for their negligence in handling protesters and ineffective handling of the riots.
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