Anti-CAA protest sites ‘picked near mosques’: Cops to court while opposing bail for Khalid

Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad, appearing for the police, claimed the organisers of the protest sites wanted to “create the groundwork for 24x7 sit-in protests”.

The Delhi Police on Monday, while opposing former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid’s bail plea, told a trial court that sites in Delhi for protests against the amended citizenship law were carefully picked because of their proximity to local mosques and were “purposely given secular names” to prove the legitimacy of the protests, arguing that agitators sought to “instigate the Muslim community” to join the stir.

Umar Khalid (in picture) and several others have been booked under UAPA and are accused of being the “masterminds” of the Delhi riots . (HT File Photo)

Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad, appearing for the police, claimed the organisers of the protest sites wanted to “create the groundwork for 24x7 sit-in protests”. He argued that the protest sites were “not organic” and alleged the role of “hidden elements like Popular Front of India (PFI), Jamat-e-Hind and Student Islamic Organisation of India” in their organisation.

He alleged that a protest site in northeast Delhi’s Shreeram Colony was close to Noorani Masjid, the Sadar Bazar site was close to Shahi Idgaah, the Shastri Park site in east Delhi was close to the Wahid Jama Masjid and Gandhi Park protest site in south Delhi was near Jamila Masjid.

“They spread misinformation and instigated the Muslim community to join the protests, including women and children,” the public prosecutor argued.

The prosecution also said that northeast Delhi was “chosen for its social, economic matrix for mass-scale violence”.

To this, the court asked, “But if you look at his speeches, Sharjeel Imam does not believe in any ideology starting from Gandhi till today. He only believes in himself. So how did he align with others?”

Earlier, advancing his arguments on behalf of Khalid, senior advocate Trideep Pais told the court the statement of the witnesses showed that he was falsely implicated and a case can’t be made against him on half truths.

Pais contended that police had written fanciful stories in the chargesheet and asked whether his client could be charged under UAPA for calling for road blockades in the city. Khalid and several others have been booked under UAPA and are accused of being the “masterminds” of the Delhi riots .