NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Wednesday booked suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on connection to the communal riots in northeast Delhi that claimed the lives of around 53 people and injured hundreds.
Police has also arrested former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan and activist Khalid Saifi in the case, said advocate Akram Khan who is representing other accused in the matter.“Any person against whom the police have evidence of being involved in instigating the communal riots in North East Delhi will be booked under UAPA,” said a highly placed source.
Hussain was arrested earlier in connection with the alleged killing of Intelligence Bureau official Ankit Sharma during the communal violence in northeast Delhi.Police has already booked Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university students Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar, arrested for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to incite communal riots in northeast Delhi in February, under the Act.
While Zargar is the media coordinator of Jamia Coordination Committee, Haider is a member of the committee.In the FIR, police has claimed that the communal violence was a “premeditated conspiracy” which was allegedly hatched by former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Umar Khalid and two others.According to police, about 712 FIR has been registered against people in the riots.
What is UAPA?
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities and make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India. A person charged under the Act can be jailed for up to seven years.