Umar Khalid gets bail in Khajuri Khas riot case; court says 'can't be jailed indefinitely'

In a major relief for former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, a Karkardooma court granted him bail in connection to the riots which took place in Khajuri Khas area in February 2020. The court noted that the chargesheet in the case has already been filed and that Khalid 'cannot be made to incarcerate in jail for infinity merely on account of the fact that other persons who were part of the riotous mob have to be identified and arrested'. Khalid has not received bail in the Delhi riots conspiracy case, hence will remain in jail.

Umar Khalid gets bail

Stating that Khalid shall not tamper with evidence or influence any witness, the court directed Umar Khalid to install the Aarogya Setu app on his phone upon his release. It also granted bail on his furnishing a personal bond on Rs 20,000. This case pertains to the violence that took place in Chand Bagh and Khalid's links to co-accused Tahir Hussain and Khalid Saifi.

Why was Khalid arrested?

Khalid was arrested on September 13, as he allegedly met with suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and Saifi on January 8 to allegedly 'hatch a conspiracy' during Trump's visit to India. In the meeting, Hussain was reportedly asked to prepare for something big at the time of US President Donald Trump's visit to India. The chargesheet accused Saifi of giving him some money for the preparations, naming him as one of the persons responsible for organizing the riots in Delhi's Khureji area. Khalid has since then been in judicial custody.

Delhi police's claims in chargesheet

Delhi police have filed a 17,000-page charge sheet and a 1000-page charge sheet naming Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan, Danish, Parvez, Ilyas,  'United Against Hate' chief Khalid Saifi, Congress ex-councillor Ishrat Jahan, Tahir Hussain, RJD youth wing’s Meeran Haider, Pinjda Tod activists Gulfisha Fatima, Safoora Zargar, Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita as accused of 'criminal conspiracy' - leading to Delhi riots which killed 53 in February 2020. Delhi police have named Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Faizan Khan as the main accused for allegedly planning the riots to 'distract attention from Donald Trump's visit', under the UAPA act. The above-mentioned accused have been charged under several sections of  Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and several sections of IPC including - rioting, murder, criminal conspiracy which has a maximum sentence of the death penalty.