Khalid has sought bail in the case. His advocate Tridip Pais told Additional Sessions, Judge Amitabh Rawat, that the FIR was fabricated and unnecessary and was used to target his client on selective grounds.
JNU student leader Umar Khalid on Monday said that the riots in North East Delhi were a conspiracy. Khalid said that there are many contradictions in the claims of the Delhi Police. Khalid is accused in these riots and was arrested under UAPA.
A case was registered against Khalid and some others under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He is accused of plotting the riots in February 2020. 53 people lost their lives in these riots while more than 700 were injured.
Khalid has sought bail in the case. His advocate Tridip Pais told Additional Sessions, Judge Amitabh Rawat, that the FIR was fabricated and unnecessary and was used to target his client on selective grounds.
The advocate pointed out two contradictions in the claims of the Delhi Police. He first showed the court a 21-minute video of Khalid`s speech in Maharashtra which was allegedly termed as provocative by the prosecution.
In the course of showing the video, the lawyer told the court that his client did not make any call for violence through speech and in fact gave a message of unity to the people.
Pais said, `That day Umar Khalid gave a message of unity based on Gandhiji. It was called terror. The content is not seditious. He was talking about democratic power and he mentioned Gandhi.
Second, he argued that according to the police case, Khalid along with other accused conspired to instigate a riot during the visit of former US President Donald Trump on January 8.
However, news of Trump`s travel was announced in February. Pais said, `These are the kinds of lies they`re spreading. This is a joke. This complaint is fabricated. Is prosecution against any person so easy? Do you have no responsibility as a prosecutor?`
The Delhi Police had recently said that there was no merit in the bail application and would present a prima facie case against him before the court citing the charge sheet filed in the case. In April this year, the former JNU student was granted bail in a case related to the riots. While granting bail, the court had said that he was not physically present at the crime scene on the day of the incident.
Besides Khalid, a case has also been registered against JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, Jamia Coordination Committee member Safoora Jargar, former Aam Aadmi Party councilor Tahir Hussain and others.
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