Delhi Police oppose bail pleas in 2020 riots case, call violence ‘pre-planned attack on sovereignty’

The Delhi Police on Tuesday strongly opposed the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others accused within the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots, telling the Supreme Court docket that the violence was not a spontaneous outburst however a “well-designed, well-crafted and pre-planned” assault on the nation’s sovereignty.

Showing for the police, Solicitor Common Tushar Mehta advised a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria that the riots had been fuelled by repeated makes an attempt to divide communities underneath the guise of protests in opposition to the Citizenship (Modification) Act.

“To begin with, that fantasy must be busted. This was not a spontaneous riot… Speech after speech, assertion after assertion, there was an try and divide society on communal strains,” Mehta submitted, including that Sharjeel Imam had known as for ‘chakka jaam’ throughout cities with substantial Muslim populations.

Mehta additionally mentioned a deceptive narrative was being pushed on social media suggesting that “one thing very critical is occurring with younger folks”, arguing as an alternative that the accused had been answerable for delays within the trial.

Further Solicitor Common S V Raju, additionally representing the Delhi Police, is at present presenting arguments because the listening to continues.

Khalid, Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider and Tasleem Ahmed Rehman had been charged underneath the Illegal Actions (Prevention) Act and sections of the erstwhile IPC for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the riots, which left 53 folks lifeless and over 700 injured. The violence had damaged out amid protests in opposition to the Citizenship (Modification) Act and the proposed Nationwide Register of Residents.