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Activist Umar Khalid amplified a false narrative in his favour using social media and through his connections with prominent individuals, the Delhi Police told a trial court on Tuesday, according to PTI.
Khalid has been charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly, among other offences, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, India’s anti-terrorism law, in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots case.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai at the Delhi court was hearing arguments against the bail application filed by Khalid, a former Jawaharlal Nehru University student.
Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, representing the Delhi Police, alleged that the data from Khalid’s mobile phone revealed that he was in contact with Congress leader Jignesh Mewani, actors Pooja Bhatt, Swara Bhasker, Zeeshan Ayub, Sushant Singh and political activist Yogendra Yadav, The Indian Express reported.
The special public prosecutor, citing Khalid’s conversations with the individuals, said that links from certain news outlets were sent to them with requests to “amplify” it in order to “expose the Delhi Police”.
Prasad also showed the court a video clip of the activist’s father being interviewed by a news portal. He said that the father had told the portal that they did not have faith in the Supreme Court.
“They [Khalid and his father] do not have faith in the Supreme Court and therefore they came to the trial court,” Prasad said. “This is how they are creating a narrative [in his favour].”
The special public prosecutor alleged that the activist had asked members of a WhatsApp group to organise protests after a certain proceeding of the Supreme Court.
The trial court will hear the matter next on Wednesday.
The case pertains to clashes in North East Delhi in February 2020 between supporters of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing it, leaving 53 persons dead and hundreds injured. Most of those killed were Muslims.
The Delhi Police have claimed that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Khalid was arrested by the Delhi Police on September 13, 2020.
Khalid had sought bail, saying that he neither played any role in the violence nor had any “conspiratorial connect” with other persons accused in the case.
His case first came up before the Supreme Court on May 18 and was adjourned 14 times for reasons ranging from the police seeking more time to file a counter-affidavit, a judge recusing himself from the hearing, the case being listed on a day set aside for hearing miscellaneous applications and Khalid’s counsel being unavailable.
On February 14, Khalid withdrew his bail application from the Supreme Court citing “change in circumstance”. He then moved the trial court.
Also read: The price that Umar Khalid is paying for dissenting in Modi’s India
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