No problem, except for curbing of liberties and malicious investigation: Umar Khalid to court

Former JNU student Umar Khalid.

Former JNU student Umar Khalid, arrested in connection with a northeast Delhi riots case, told a Delhi court that apart from curbing of liberties and a malicious investigation he was not facing any issues in jail.

Khalid made these submissions after Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat asked whether the issues earlier stated to have been faced by Khalid in jail have now been resolved.

“Except for the curbing of liberties and malicious investigation in the case I have no other problems, ” Khalid said.

Khalid and JNU student Sharjeel Imam were produced before the court through video conferencing, where the police moved an application to extend their judicial custody by three days.

The court has sent them to judicial custody till November 23 and they will be produced on Monday along with the 15 accused persons in the UAPA case investigated by the Special Cell of Delhi Police will be produced.

Trideep Pais, who appeared on behalf of Khalid told the court that he went through the application for extension of judicial custody. “How much trouble they have taken to see that this application is different from the previous one…it is nearly packaged without any typographical errors,” Pais told the court.

ASJ Rawat also asked Prasad whether the supplementary chargesheet in the case will be field in the case. Prasad said, “Let the remand be extended. We will see it on Monday.”

On November 3, several accused in a North-East Delhi riots case complained that they were being denied warm clothes, access to medicines amid a Covid outbreak in the jail, and letters from their families following which ASJ Rawat warned Tihar officials that he would conduct a physical inspection of the jail premises.

On October 22, Khalid told the court that he has been kept under solitary confinement by Tihar Jail authorities for several days and asked the court why he was he being punished.

After this was brought to the court’s attention Khalid told the court that, “things are much better, following which the court directed the Tihar jail superintendant to ensure that this continues.”

Khalid has been arrested in connection with a UAPA case investigated by Special Cell of Delhi Police.

According to police, an FIR was registered against Khalid on March 6 based on information provided by an informer to sub-inspector Arvind Kumar of the narcotics unit of the Crime Branch. As per the FIR, Kumar said the informer told him that the Northeast Delhi riots in February was part of a “premeditated conspiracy” allegedly hatched by Khalid, one Danish, and two others associated with different organisations.

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