Delhi police sought 10-day custody of Umar Khalid on Monday when they brought him before the Karkardooma district court via video conference a day after arresting the activist under the anti-terrorism law on the Prevention of Unlawful Activities (UAPA) for his alleged role in the conspiracy behind the February riots in the national capital.
Also Read: Umar Khalid Arrested In Relation To Northeast Delhi Riots
Special counsel Amit Prasad told additional sessions judge Amitabh Rawat that Khalid has to be confronted with voluminous documentary evidence.
The special cell of the Delhi Police is investigating a larger conspiracy case, in addition to several cases filed in connection with the riots that left 53 dead and about 400 injured.
In separate indictment sheets related to the riots, police have said that Khalid met with party councilor Aam Aadmi, Tahir Hussain, and activist Khalid Saifi, suspended and jailed on January 8 at the Shaheen Bagh protest site. against the (Amendment) Citizenship Act (CAA). -National Register of Citiznens (NRC) to supposedly plan the riots. He has been questioned twice in the past two months about his alleged role. Police have also linked Khalid’s speeches to the riots.
Khalid’s lawyer, Trideep Pais, told the court that the police have to clarify where he made the speeches and show proof that his client asked people to come to protest. He added that Khalid is against the CAA and is not ashamed of it.
Khalid’s father, Sayed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, has accused the Delhi police of attacking those who participated in the protests against the CAA and the NRC.
“This is nothing more than an attempt to corner activists and silence the voices of those who dissent from the government. Delhi police have been trying to weave a false story by naming a few people who participated in the anti-CAA-NRC protests, including Umar, as the ‘brains’ behind the Northeast [Delhi] violence. However, everyone knows who was really behind the riots. “
The riots were sparked after clashes between CAA supporters and their opponents.
The approval of the CAA in December to speed up the citizenship process for non-Muslims who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh before December 31, 2014, sparked protests across the country.
Opponents of the law insist that it is discriminatory and unconstitutional, as it excludes Muslims and links faith with citizenship in a secular country. They say it could result in the expulsion or arrests of Muslims who cannot provide documentation if the law is viewed in the context of a proposed pan-Indian NRC. A process carried out in Assam to detect undocumented immigrants led to the exclusion of around two million people from the NRC in 2018.
Khalid was arrested after being questioned twice. He has denied the allegations and called the investigation a conspiracy.
Surprised that a UAPA counter-terrorism law was used to arrest an idealist @UmarKhalidJNU that he has always opposed violence and communalism in any form.
It is certainly among the leaders that India deserves.@DelhiPolice The future of India cannot be stopped for long.– Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) September 14, 2020
Also read: The arrest of Umar Khalid: Activists, academics, politicians express solidarity, they call it a ‘witch hunt’
Hussain, Jamia Meeran Haider’s student, Jamia Coordinating Committee Safoora Zargar, and Pinjra activists Tod Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita have also been arrested under UAPA on charges of allegedly planning and executing the northeast Delhi riots.
The riots broke out in the run-up to the assembly elections in Delhi and right-wing groups have also faced accusations of fueling them.
Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav called Khalid a thinking idealist, adding that he is surprised that a counter-terrorism law has been used to arrest the activist who has always opposed violence and communalism in any form. “He is certainly among the leaders that India deserves. @DelhiPolice cannot hold back the future of India for long, ”Yadav said in a tweet.
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