Delhi riots case: ‘Anti-CAA protest secular, charge sheet communal’, Umar Khalid tells court

Umar Khalid and several others have been booked under the UAPA accused of being the “masterminds” of the riots which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured

The anti-CAA protest was secular but the charge sheet in the Delhi riots conspiracy case was communal and the police fabricated a story to suit its narrative, former JNU student leader Umar Khalid told a court in New Delhi on November 2 calling it a “naked form of false implication”.

Senior advocate Trideep Pais, appearing for Mr. Khalid, made the remarks during a hearing on Mr. Khalid’s bail plea in a case related to the communal violence that had broken out in north-east Delhi on February 24, 2020, after clashes between the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) supporters and its protesters spiralled out of control.

Mr. Khalid and several others have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a stringent anti-terror law, accused of being the “masterminds” of the riots which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.