Umar Khalid arrested in connection with North-East Delhi riots

[Prem Kumar]

Umar Khalid arrested in connection with North-East Delhi riots

Khalid was called for questioning on Sunday, an officer, who did not wish to be named, said. He has been interrogated twice in the last two months for his alleged role.



Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid was arrested in connection with a case related to the conspiracy behind North East Delhi riots.

The case is being probed by the Delhi Police special cell, which is looking into a "larger conspiracy angle" behind the riots that took place in February, in which at least 53 persons died and 400 others were injured.

Khalid was called for questioning on Sunday, an officer, who did not wish to be named, said. He has been interrogated twice in the last two months for his alleged role.

"We arrested Umar Khalid late Sunday night," said a senior police officer associated with the probe, requesting not to be named. The officer refused to share further details.

According to the special cell submissions before the court last month, Khalid along with the other accused persons -- former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and activist Khalid Saifi -- had hatched a conspiracy to orchestrate the riots, just before the visit of US President Donald Trump in February.

In at least four charge sheets, police have said Khalid had met suspended and jailed Aam Aadmi Party's councillor Hussain and Saifi on January 8 at the Shaheen Bagh sit-in protest site to allegedly plan the riots.

Khalid was questioned for the first time on July 31 for his alleged role in the riots. "He was questioned regarding the purported provocative speeches he had allegedly delivered at two different places before the visit of US President Donald Trump in February. Khalid had allegedly appealed to the public to come out on streets and block the roads during Trump's visit," the officer said.

In his earlier statement to the press, Khalid has denied the allegations.

More than eight people, including Tahir Hussain, Jamia student Meeran Haider, Jamia Coordination Committee's media coordinator Safoora Zargar, and Pinjra Tod activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, have been arrested under the Unlawful Activity Prevention Act (UAPA).

The arrested persons have accused Delhi Police of launching a witch hunt against them because they were prominent voices against the government's Citizenship Amendment Act.

Delhi police have said that the riots were planned by some leaders of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in the national Capital.

Khalid was earlier arrested in February 2016 for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans inside the JNU campus along with former student union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others. They were charged with sedition. They had denied the charges and accused the police of using doctored videos to build a case against them. The case is being heard by a city court.

Sources by : Hindustan Times