NEW DELHI: Former JNU student leader and activist Umar Khalid was granted bail by a Delhi court on Thursday in a case related to the communal violence in northeast Delhi in February last year. However, Khalid will remain in jail as he is also accused in some other cases including one related to the criminal conspiracy lodged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The court, hearing a case arising out of the FIR registered at Khajuri Khas Police Station, said that Khalid was not physically present at the scene of the crime on the date of the incident. Amongst other bail conditions, Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav of the Karkardooma Court directed Umar Khalid to install the Aarogya Setu app on his phone upon his release.
“(Khalid) is not visible in any CCTV footage/viral video(s) pertaining to the scene of the crime on the date of the incident. There is no identification of the applicant either through independent public witness or any police witness of he being present at the scene of the crime on the date of the incident,” the court observed in the order. The court added that the CDR location of Khalid’s mobile was also not found at the scene of the crime on the date of the incident.
The court observed that the applicant has merely been roped in the matter on basis of disclosure statements made by Khalid and co-accused Tahir Hussain and Khalid Saifi. The court rejected the prosecution’s argument that Khalid had been in regular contact/touch with co-accused Tahir Hussain and Khalid Saifi over mobile phone and said that “prima facie that does not in any way go on to establish the criminal conspiracy alleged against the applicant in the matter.”
The case was related to an incident on February 24, 2020 at about 2 PM, when a large crowd gathered on the road in a locality in northeast Delhi and started pelting stones injuring police officials. They also set several vehicles in a parking area nearby on fire. Communal clashes had broken out after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and scores injured.
No bail for accused who pointed gun at head constable
The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed bail plea of the accused who allegedly pointed a pistol at a police head constable during the communal violence in February last year, saying the video clips have shaken the court’s conscience that how could he take law and order in his hands. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait said whether or not accused Shahrukh Pathan had the intention to kill the complainant police official or any person present in the public with his open air pistol shots, it is hard to believe that he had no knowledge that his act may harm anyone present at the spot. Pathan (24) whose picture showing him pointing a pistol at head constable Deepak Dahiya during the riots went viral on social media, was arrested on March 3, 2020 from Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district.