Delhi Riots: Delhi Court Denies Bail to Umar Khalid In Conspiracy Case

A Delhi Court on Thursday denied bail to former JNU student Umar Khalid in connection with the conspiracy case pertaining to the February 2020 Delhi Riots matter. The sessions court specifically designated to try matters pertaining to the Delhi Riots had reserved its verdict on March 4 after hearing arguments in detail.

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Delhi police had arrested Khalid for allegedly conspiring to orchestrate the February 2020 Delhi riots that left at least 53 dead and hundreds injured. While seeking bail, Khalid alleged that the Delhi police was acting in a communal manner and that it fabricated charges against him. The chargesheet filed in connection with the conspiracy case in the Delhi riots matter read like a script of "Family Man", the web series, Khalid argued.

Senior advocate Trideep Pais, representing Khalid, had further argued that the witnesses who deposed against his client were "cooked up" and just like the witnesses the State of Chicago planted in the movie "The Trial of Chicago 7".

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The police on the other hand opposed bail stating that since Khalid could not rebut the case on merits, he tried to create a perception by equating his case to the "Family Man" and "The Trial of Chicago 7".

The police argued that the meticulous planning of the February 2020 Delhi riots was evident as the sites with religious significance were carefully picked out as venues for the sit-in Anti-CAA protests. The police said despite the secular nature of the protest, the real agenda was not to highlight the Citizen Amendment Act, or the National Register of Citizens, but rather it was nothing but an attempt to embarrass the government before the international media.