Former Jawaharlal Nehru University student and Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Students Organisation (BASO) leader, Umar Khalid, has been arrested by the Delhi Police’s special cell at around 2300 hours on September 13th, 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
After questioning Khalid till 1300 hours, Delhi police arrested him for his alleged role in the riots that broke out in north-east Delhi, in February this year.
A senior Delhi police officer has confirmed that Khalid was called for questioning at Special Cell office on Sunday after which he was formally arrested.
Who is Umar Khalid?
Umar Khalid, a self-styled human rights activist, former student & member of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union. Khalid was a former Democratic Students’ Union leader in JNU. He was very vocal during CAA-NRC protests as well as in the Jawaharlal Nehru University sedition row for protesting against the capital punishment meted out to convicted Kashmiri separatists Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat.
Why is he behind the bars?
According to Delhi Police, an FIR was registered against Khalid on March 6 based on information provided by an informer to Sub-Inspector Arvind Kumar of the narcotics unit of the Crime Branch. As per the FIR, Kumar said the informer told him that the Northeast Delhi riots in February were part of a “premeditated conspiracy” allegedly hatched by Khalid, one Danish, and two others associated with different organisations.
ThE FIR states: “Khalid allegedly gave provocative speeches at two different places and appealed to the citizens to come out on the streets and block the roads during the visit of US President Donald Trump to spread propaganda at the international level about how minorities in India are being persecuted.”
While Khalid’s lawyer Trideep Pais spoke on Saturday that the allegations against Khalid were “completely false, fabricated and procured illegally through duress”, reported The Indian Express. “There is an attempt to rewrite the history of the past six months in front of our eyes and give it an official stamp,” Khalid said at a press conference on September 4.
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