Former JNU student Umar Khalid arrested in Delhi riots case

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University student Umar Khalid was arrested by the Delhi Police for his alleged role in the Northeast-Delhi riots, which broke out this February. Khalid was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The former student leader was questioned for 11 hours and will be produced before a Delhi court today.

In the chargesheet filed in this case, Delhi Police had claimed that suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain had said that he had met Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi of ‘United Against Hate’ in January at Shaheen Bagh where Umar Khalid had asked him “to be prepared for something big” during US President Trump’s visit.

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The Delhi Police on Sunday said it was probing the role of all individuals who allegedly participated in the riots and were part of a larger conspiracy in organising violence in the northeast Delhi and flaming communal passion and hatred amongst communities, an official statement said.

Riots had erupted in northeast Delhi on February 24 as clashes between those supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and those against the legislation turned violent, resulting in the deaths of over 50 people. During the riots, 108 police personnel received injuries and two died.

So far, the Delhi Police has registered 751 FIRs in connection with communal riots. The police also said that the riots also resulted in large-scale damage to both private and public properties. Till now, the police have arrested 1,575 individuals in 751 cases. Over 250 charge sheets have been filed in the riots related cases in which 1,153 accused have been charge-sheeted.

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