'Making CAA global issue, conspiracy for pan India': Delhi Police opposes bail of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam before SC

Umar Khalid

The Delhi Police, on Thursday, in an affidavit to the Supreme Court, objected to the bail plea of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others in the UAPA case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.

Delhi Police said that the materials on record, including the chats referencing US President Donald Trump, establish beyond doubt that the instant conspiracy was pre-planned to be executed at the time when the US President was to make an official visit to India.

This was done so as to draw the attention of international media and to make the issue of CAA a global issue by portraying it as an act of a pogrom of the Muslims community in India, according to the affidavit of the Delhi police.

The issue of CAA was carefully chosen to serve as a "radicalising catalyst" camouflaged in the name of "peaceful protest", the affidavit said.

The affidavit said that the "deep-rooted, premeditated and pre-planned conspiracy" hatched by the petitioners resulted in the death of 53 persons, large-scale damage to public property, leading to the registration of 753 FIRs in Delhi alone.

Evidence on record suggests that the instant conspiracy was sought to be replicated and executed PAN India, said Delhi police in the affidavit.

Earlier on October 27, the Supreme Court questioned the Delhi police for failing to file its response to the bail pleas of Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider and Shifa Ur Rehman, challenging the Delhi High Court order which denied them bail in the UAPA case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria declined the request of Delhi Police for a grant of two weeks' time to file counter-affidavits on the petitions.

The bench said that it had given the Delhi Police enough time to reply to the pleas.

"We made it clear. You (ASG) may be appearing for the first time. We granted sufficient time. Last time we said issue notice and we said in that open court that we will hear this matter on October 27th and will dispose of it," the Court told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju after he sought more time to respond to the appeals filed by the accused.