Umar Khalid’s counsel questions police claims in Delhi riots case hearing

The counsel for former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student and Delhi riots case accused Umar Khalid on Tuesday questioned the credibility of the police investigation during a hearing on the framing of charges at Karkardooma Court.

Umar Khalid and 17 others have been charge-sheeted by the Delhi Police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly conspiring to incite violence during the February 2020 riots in North-East Delhi.

The matter was heard by Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai, who listed it for further arguments on Wednesday. Senior advocate Tridip Pais appeared for Khalid and presented detailed arguments challenging the police’s version of events.

Pais said that the police allegations were not supported by credible evidence. He argued that according to the prosecution, Khalid gave a call for a chakka jam (road blockade), but calling for a chakka jam is not a criminal act in itself and does not amount to promoting violence.

He further pointed out that the police claimed a meeting took place in Jungpura, which was attended by Khalid and others, yet only Umar Khalid and activist Sharjeel Imam were accused in connection with that meeting.

Referring to another alleged meeting at Jantar Mantar on January 8, 2020, the defence counsel said that call detail records (CDRs) showed Khalid was not present there that day. He argued that no part of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was applicable to this case and that it should be tried by a magistrate, not under UAPA provisions.

Questioning the police’s claim of a secret meeting held in Jafrabad, Pais said that investigators cited photos of the meeting posted on Facebook as evidence. He remarked, “Who posts photos of secret meetings on Facebook?” suggesting that the police’s theory was inconsistent.

The defence also raised questions about the lack of material evidence. Pais said that police alleged one of the co-accused, Gulfisha Fatima, had asked people to bring red chillies and other items to cause violence, but no such materials were recovered during the investigation.

He further questioned why the police failed to prevent the violence if they had prior information about the alleged conspiracy. “If police already knew about the plan, why were they unable to control the situation in February 2020?” Pais asked.

He also claimed that Umar Khalid had cooperated with investigators and shared information with them during the probe.

The Delhi Police have maintained that a planned conspiracy led to the 2020 violence, and they have filed multiple charge sheets and supplementary charge sheets against the accused under the UAPA.

The court will continue hearing arguments in the case on Wednesday.