Cops quiz Umar Khalid in northeast Delhi riots case

NEW DELHI: Former Jawaharlal Nehru University scholar Umar Khalid, who is facing sedition charges for alleged anti-national sloganeering in 2016, was questioned by Delhi Police’s Special Cell in relation to the February riots in northeast Delhi. He was questioned for over three hours on Friday evening after his mobile phone was seized for forensic analysis.
Khalid was asked around 40 questions, all aimed at learning about his movements prior to the riots.The cops also interrogated him about his meeting with the members of “United Against Hate” groups and the Popular Front of India.
Police reported that Khalid did not co-operate during the questioning and gave evasive replies centred on free speech and freedom of expression. Also, citing his constitutional rights, the JNU student denied any role in the riots.
Special Cell had filed a separate FIR under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act to examine the possibility of a conspiracy leading to the Delhi riots. All other cases pertaining to the riots are being probed by three teams of the Crime Branch. Though the FIR was registered soon after the riots, there weren’t enough leads to question Khalid for five months.
Khalid had come under the scanner of intelligence agencies for the speech given by him on February 17 in Maharashtra’s Amravati. In a video clip of the event, Khalid is heard asking people to come on the streets during US president Donald Trump’s visit.
In the 17-minute clip, Khalid is heard saying, “The home minister had said that no matter how much we protest or complain, the government won’t back-track on its decisions… I promise you that on February 24, when Donald Trump arrives in India, we will let him know that the Indian Prime Minister has been trying to divide the country… If the government wants to divide India, the citizens will unite and step out on the roads.”