The former JNU student Umar Khalid was on Wednesday interrogated for more than 4 hours by the Delhi Police Crime Branch in connection with the Northeast Delhi riots. According to the police, they had summoned Khalid for “verifying some important points”.
Umar, along with several other rabble-rousers such as Jamia media coordinator Safoora Zargar, RJD’s youth wing president Meeran Haider, Pinjra Tod activist Natasha Narwal and several others have been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly instigating the violence that swept over large swathes of the northeast Delhi in February earlier this year.
Khalid was questioned on Wednesday morning at the Sunlight colony office. Last month, he was quizzed by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police in the Delhi Riots case.
Khalid’s letter to Delhi Police Commissioner alleging conspiracy to falsely implicate him in Delhi riots
Meanwhile, Khalid had written a letter to the Commissioner of Delhi Police, S N Shrivastava on Tuesday, alleging acts of “fabrication and attempts at false implication” by the Special Cell’s officers. Khalid claimed in the letter that he had met an acquaintance who revealed that he was given a pre-drafted statement against him by the investigating officers of the Special Cell.
In the pre-drafted statement, Umar Khalid was portrayed as one of the co-conspirators of the riots that flared up in northeast Delhi under the pretext of peaceful protests against the CAA.
As per Umar Khalid, his acquaintance protested against signing the letter but the officers intimidated him to change his statement. The man in question later claimed that it was not his statement.
Khalid claims that the authorities threatened the man with an arrest memo with UAPA written over it, showing it to him and telling him that he had no choice but go ahead with it or he could sign the other form. The man felt compelled to sign the statement, Khalid mentioned.
Umar has also rubbished the confession made by another Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain, who had said that he met Khalid Saifi and him at PFI office in Shaheen Bagh on January 8. Khalid claimed that he had never met Hussain or been to the PFI office.
Umar Khalid’s name in the FIR and Tahir Hussain’s confession of hatching conspiracy with Umar Khalid
While Umar Khalid pleads innocence, the Delhi Police Crime Branch in its FIR dated 6th March 2020 stated that the anti-Hindu riots that took place in North East Delhi between 24-26 February during the visit of US President Donald Trump were preplanned. The FIR copy stated that the anti-Hindu riots conspiracy was hatched by ex-JNU student Umar Khalid and his associates who are linked with two groups. As part of the conspiracy, Umar Khalid gave provocative speeches at two different locations and appealed to people to take to streets during the visit of US President Donald Trump so that the propaganda that minorities are oppressed in India can be internationalized.
Delhi Riots accused Tahir Hussain was also in touch with Umar Khalid and his close aide Khalid Saifi, a charge sheet filed in the murder of IB constable Ankit Sharma stated. The charge sheet filed in the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma and Tahir Hussain’s role in the riots, it is explicitly mentioned that Tahir Hussain hatched the plans for the riots in January when Hussain had met the JNU scholar and Khalid Saifi at Shaheen Bagh. Khalid Saifi had also met with Zakir Naik to raise funds for the riots, a status report filed by the Delhi Police in July said.
