Delhi riots case: Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi acquitted, Will remain in judicial custody
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New Delhi: Former JNU student Umar Khalid and United Against Hate member Khalid Saifi were acquitted by a Delhi court in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots case. However, they will remain in judicial custody because they have not received bail in a UAPA case.
Umar's father SQR Ilyas said the family got this good news after two years of waiting. "This is the result of the hard perseverance of our legal team. He had got bail earlier also. He is in custody for the UAPA case and allegations are similar in both cases. We are hopeful that he will be released in the UAPA case as well."
Khalid Saifi's wife Nargis told The Indian Express: "They filed a false case and after a long time we got a victory. It is a slap on the police that the case was discharged. This is a god's gift after such a long time. I can't express my happiness."
A detailed order in the case is yet to come.
The case was registered at Khajuri police station on the basis of an on-duty constable. He said a mob broke the shutter of a parking lot and assaulted the people inside and set fire to vehicles. Khalid and Saifi were accused of being part of a criminal conspiracy.
The activists had argued that they played no "criminal role" in the violence that took place in Delhi's northeast area in September 2020. The incident left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. Several activists were booked for allegedly being the masterminds behind the riots.
