Delhi riots: Police file charge sheet under UAPA for larger conspiracy
The Delhi police filed a charge sheet before a city court under the stringent law UAPA and other sections against 15 persons for larger conspiracy in northeast Delhi riots in February.
The Delhi police on Wednesday (September 16) filed a charge sheet before a city court under the stringent law UAPA and other sections against 15 persons for larger conspiracy in northeast Delhi riots in February.
A special cell of the Delhi police told the court that it has arrived at this conclusion based on CD-R and Whatsapp chats.
In its charge sheet running into 10,000 pages, the police has listed 747 witnesses and of them, 51 have recorded their statements under CRPC 164 (before the magistrate).
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, a group of activists and academicians demanded immediate release of those booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the northeast Delhi riots and setting up of a judicial inquiry commission to punish the “real culprits”.
In a joint statement, they alleged that the democratic voices of dissent are being “gradually implicated”. The statement comes after the arrest of former JNU student leader Umar Khalid by the Delhi Police on September 13. Khalid has been charged under the UAPA.
The joint statement was issued by Syeda Hameed, writer and former member of erstwhile Planning Commission of India, senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, former JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar, CPIML politburo member Kavita Krishnan, journalist Pamela Philipose, and former DUTA president Nandita Narain.
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“All democratic voices of dissent are being gradually implicated. This includes students, academicians, artists, politicians and activists. We demand an immediate end to this outrageous investigation that is being conducted with prejudice and malafide intent,” the statement stated.
“We demand that activists booked under the UAPA be immediately released; and a judicial inquiry commission be constituted to punish the real culprits and ensure justice for the Delhi violence,” it stated.
The communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
(With inputs from agencies)
