Umar Khalid shot at; row erupts over claim

| | New Delhi

A gunshot on Monday around 2.30 pm  at Constitution Club  in New Delhi sparked a controversy when an unidentified man allegedly targeted JNU ex-student leader Umar Khalid, who escaped unhurt, eyewitnesses said. The attacker dropped the gun and fled the spot.

However, a row erupted after several eyewitnesses claimed Khalid was not at the spot when attackers opened fire, and had, in fact, rushed outside the club after hearing the gunshot.

Soon afterwards, he was seen to be escorted by some of his accomplices back into the club, where surprisingly claimed that there was an “assassination” attempt on him.

Joint Commissioner of Police Ajay Choudhary said investigation is on whether shots were fired or not.  

“We are examining the CCTV footage to verify the incident. We are investigating the matter,” said Choudhary.

Police said they have seized the weapon and have registered a case under relevant sections and are investigating. After the controversy, Khalid left the programme named “Khauf se Azadi” (Freedom from Fear), organised by United Against Hate for which the organisers have not notified and taken any permission from the Delhi Police. The event had speakers such as lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Delhi University professor Apoorvanand and the late Rohith Vemula’s mother Radhika Vemula.

Khalid claimed somebody pounced on him and tried to fire at him but the person could not fire. People started chasing him. According to Khalid, he fired in the air and fled from the spot.

One witness said he saw some men fighting. “During the fight, one of them took a gun and tried to fire but the gun didn’t go off. Later, the person ran and fired the gun in the air. Khalid wasn’t present at the tea-stall . It was only later that Khalid came out of the Constitution Club to the tea-stall,” said the eyewitness.

The JNU student had come in news in 2016 when he, along with JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and three others, was charged with sedition for raising anti-national slogans during an event on the campus to protest the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. The university recently refused to accept his PhD thesis following which he has moved court.