Shifa-Ur-Rehman, President, Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association (JMIAA), has been sent to ten-day police custody under the charges of planning a criminal conspiracy with Umar Khalid, a former Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU) student.
A Delhi Court on 27th April sent Shifa-Ur-Rehman, President, Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association (JMIAA), to a ten-day police custody. The police informed the Court, about Rehman being involved in a criminal conspiracy, along with Umar Khalid, a former Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU) student. Rehman has been arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), for the riots that took place in Northeast Delhi in the month of February.
In the previous week the police also booked Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) students Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar under UAPA. The same students have also been booked for the offenses of murder, attempt to murder, sedition, and promotion of enmity between different groups based on religion. In the first information report the police even claimed the communal violence to be a “premeditation conspiracy”.
“We had technical evidence against him which suggests that he incited mobs during the riots. He was also seen in the CCTV footage which was collected from the riot-affected areas. We have checked his call record details and WhatsApp messages and found more evidence which suggests his involvement in the riots,” said police about Rehman, who is also a member of the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC).
While taking his custody, police told the court that Rehman’s name popped up after the interrogation of others, who were arrested as a part of the same case. The case dealt with the communal violence, due to conflicting opinions regarding the newly passed law of Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Registry of Citizens (NRC), and National Population Registry (NPR). The police produced Rehman in front of justice Sanjeev Kumar and told that his custody is important for disclosing the larger conspiracy, and would also supplement in revealing the other names involved. Many have criticised the charges filed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against individuals protesting the CAA-NRC-NPR.
Clashes had broken out between the supporters of the law and those opposing it between 23rd to 26th February in Northeast Delhi, one of the worst the capital has witnessed since the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
Feature Image Credits: Scroll
Kriti Gupta