Delhi’s Karkardooma court Friday extended the judicial custody of former JNU students Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, accused of conspiring to organise the Delhi riots in February this year, by 30 days. Both will now remain in judicial custody till 20 November. Both the radical Islamists were booked by the Special Cell of Delhi police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in relation to the North-east Delhi riots case and are currently lodged in the Tihar jail.
BREAKING: Delhi Court allows application seeking for extension of remand by 30 days of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, with regard to investigation pertaining to conspiracy involved in #DelhiRiots.
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) October 23, 2020
Remand extended till 20th November, 2020. #UmarKhalid #SharjeelImam #UAPA
While Sharjeel Imam was apprehended on August 25, Delhi police arrested Umar Khalid on September 14 for his alleged involvement in the horrific Northeast Delhi riots. Khalid is one among 15 people who have been arrested for their role in instigating and carrying out riots in the Chand Bagh area of Delhi on February 24.
The police had asked for a 30-day extension to the judicial custody of the two, arguing their continued remand was necessary to ensure the investigation could continue, by ensuring their presence.
Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid alleged not being allowed free movement in jail
Responding to the plea that both be allowed free movement in jail, the court asked the Tihar jail superintendent to ensure that they are allowed out of their cells as per rules.
Meanwhile, the Tihar jail superintendent stated that the two are allowed free movement in the jail premises as per rules. He also assured that any books and warm clothes sent for Khalid to the jail would be provided to him.
On Thursday, Umar Khalid had alleged that he was not being allowed to move freely in the jail and that he is being kept under solitary confinement. Later in the hearing, JNU student Sharjeel Imam also alleged same. The judge asked his lawyer to file an application, and orally asked the superintendent to make sure the rules were being followed.
Umar Khalid’s alleged role in Delhi riots
Khalid was arrested by the police September 14 for his alleged involvement in the horrific Northeast Delhi riots. He was summoned by the police for investigation and was later arrested. In a charge sheet filed by the Delhi police and admitted by the court, it is alleged that Khalid had hatched the conspiracy of the anti-Hindu Delhi riots along with his friends during the visit of the US President Trump to India. Khalid had allegedly met the former AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain and another accused Khalid Saifi to assure logistical support during the riots through his contacts in the PFI.
Radical Islamist Sharjeel Imam wanted to turn Anti-CAA protests into a pan-India movement
Imam is accused of being involved in the conspiracy that led to the break-out of riots in the national capital. He was booked under various sections of the IPC and the UAPA. The charge sheet filed against him had revealed that Imam wanted to transform the anti-CAA protests into a nationwide movement. His WhatsApp chats revealed during the investigation show that he used the misinformation spreading around the CAA to further his agenda and in this, he got the help of local Islamic clerics.
Earlier the mastermind of the Shaheen Bagh protests was arrested on January 28 on sedition charges after he urged Muslims to cut off North East India from the rest of the country by blocking the ‘Chicken’s neck’ region in Assam.
