Delhi police tells court Umar Khalid amplified false narrative on social media
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New Delhi: The Delhi Police concluded its arguments against Umar Khalid's bail request in the 2020 Delhi riots case by informing the court here on Tuesday that the former JNU student had used social media to spread a false narrative in his favour.
Umar Khalid is one of the accused in the broader claimed conspiracy that led to the communal rioting in northeast Delhi in 2020. He has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The arguments against his bail plea were made on Tuesday before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai.
Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad said Umar Khalid's mobile phone data revealed he was in contact with some actors, politicians, activists and celebrities and sent them some links by certain news portals against the Delhi Police.
These links were sent with a request to share them on their social media accounts to set a particular narrative and amplify it.
Citing his chats with these people -- who have a considerable social media following -- Mr Prasad said Mr Khalid amplified his narrative as part of a conspiracy.
The SPP also played a video clip in the court, where Mr Khalid's father was being interviewed by a news portal.
The SPP said his father told the portal that they did not have faith in the Supreme Court. "They don't have faith in the Supreme Court, and, therefore they came to the trial court. This is how they are creating a narrative (in his favour)," he said.
The SPP said Mr Khalid had requested members of a WhatsApp group to schedule protests after a particular top court proceeding.
He also rejected the contention of Mr Khalid seeking parity with other co-accused, who have been granted bail.
The matter has been posted for Wednesday for rebuttal by Mr Khalid's counsel.
Mr Khalid and several others have been booked under the anti-terror law UAPA and several provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
The violence had erupted during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
With PTI inputs