Delhi riots: Umar Khalid sent to 10-day police custody

A Delhi court Monday sent former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Umar Khalid, arrested under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, to police custody for 10 days in a case related to the communal violence in northeast Delhi in February.

Khalid was produced before Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat through video conferencing.

Police had sought his custody for 10 days saying they wanted to confront him with documents running into 11 lakh pages.

Khalid was arrested on Sunday night in the case.

His counsel opposed the remand application saying he was not in Delhi during February 23-26, when the riots took place.

In the FIR, the police has claimed that the communal violence was a "premeditated conspiracy" which was allegedly hatched by Khalid and two others.

Khalid has also been booked for the offences of sedition, murder, attempt to murder, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and rioting.

Khalid had allegedly given provocative speeches at two different places and appealed to the citizens to come out on streets and block the roads during the visit of United States President Donald Trump to spread propaganda at international level about how minorities in India are being tortured, the FIR alleged.

In this conspiracy, firearms, petrol bombs, acid bottles and stones were collected at numerous homes, FIR claimed.

Co-accused Danish was allegedly given the responsibility to gather people from two different places to take part in the riots, police alleged.

Women and children were made to block the roads under the Jafrabad metro station on February 23 to create tension among people in the neighbourhood, the FIR said.

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.