Delhi Police arrest Umar Khalid in connection with riots case

Delhi Police late on Sunday night arrested activist Umar Khalid in connection with the investigations into riots in north-east Delhi earlier this February.

Khalid, a former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, is accused of conspiring with other activists to utilise the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests for the riots, officials claimed.

Khalid was questioned for nearly 11 hours on Sunday and booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, officials said. Earlier on July 31, he was questioned and his phone was seized.

Police had in March registered a case against Khalid and others, accusing them of being part of a "premeditated conspiracy" to foment trouble in north-east Delhi.

The FIR had claimed that the former Jawaharlal Nehru University student gave provocative speeches asking people to block traffic during the visit of United States President Donald Trump to attract the international community's attention.

A chargesheet filed against AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, who was earlier arrested in the riots case, had claimed that he had met with Khalid. According to the claims in the chargesheet, Khalid had spoken about action during Trump's India visit.

Investigators had claimed that Khalid through an organisation United Against Hate had organised meetings against CAA, NRC and prompted activists to go hammer and tongs against the government.

Activists have been accusing the Delhi Police of targeting anti-CAA protesters and linking them to the Delhi riots while ignoring acts of hate speech by BJP and Hindutva leaders, which instigated communal violence.

In a chargesheet filed by Delhi Police last week, Khalid's name had been mentioned in disclosure statements of two arrested students. Both had refused to sign the disclosure statements. The same chargesheet had also mentioned the names of CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, economist Jayati Ghosh, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav and Delhi University Professor Apoorvanand as mobilising and provoking crowds during anti-CAA protests.

According to the disclosure report in the chargesheet, Khalid had given them "tips" on how to organise protests. It was also claimed that it was under Khalid's instructions that one of the arrested students Gulfisha was drafted into protests.

"Omar Khalid used to help with money and used to address people in separatist langunge nnd provoke that more people joined the strike in early February," the contentious disclosure reports said.

It also claimed that Khalid had participated in a private meeting in January 2020 at Seelampur where he said that only speeches were not sufficient now.