Delhi riots: Umar Khalid alleges 'custody illegally extended without prior intimation'

NEW DELHI: Former JNU student Umar Khalid alleged before a court in New Delhi on Monday that his custody in a case related to the northeast Delhi riots in February was extended ‘illegally’, ‘mechanically’ and without prior intimation to his lawyers.

The submission was made before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dinesh Kumar through video conferencing in the case related to rioting in Khajuri Khas area.Khalid was arrested in the case on October 1 and is in judicial custody. 

He was earlier arrested in September in a separate case related to larger conspiracy in the riots which erupted between anti-CAA protesters and those supporting the CAA, killing over 50 people. 

Advocate Sanya Kumar, appearing for Khalid, alleged that since his arrest in the case, his lawyers were not given copies of the remand applications and denied information about when and before which judge he would be produced.

‘Time and time again the remand was mechanically granted. Case diaries were not signed, we were not supplied a copy of the remand application,’ she claimed. The court has put up the matter for further hearing on November 27.

The application, moved by advocates Trideep Pais and Kumar, sought directions to the investigating agency as well as the jail authorities to provide a copy of the application seeking remand/extension of remand to Khalid’s counsels in advance to the proceedings.

(With agency inputs)