Sharjeel moves court claiming threat to his life in prison

New Delhi: Former JNU student Sharjeel Imam, an accused in a case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, on Monday moved a Delhi Court claiming a threat to his life.

The application, which is likely to come up for hearing before Special Judge Amitabh Rawat, alleged that the Assistant Superintendent of Jail recently had entered his cell along with eight-ten people in the garb of a search, assaulted him and called him a terrorist and anti-national.

Imam is accused of making inflammatory speeches against the government on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC), particularly at Jamia Milia Islamia University in December 2019, which allegedly led to violence in the area outside the university.

Imam, also facing sedition charges for his alleged inflammatory speeches, is in judicial custody since January 2020.

Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet against Imam in the case, in which it alleged that he gave speeches inciting hatred, contempt, and disaffection towards the central government and instigated the people which led to the violence in December 2019.

HC adjourns hearing till July 27 on bail pleas by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam: The Delhi High Court on Monday adjourned the hearing till July 27 on bail pleas by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and Alumni Association Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) President Shifa-ur-Rehman in a UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the riots here in February 2020.

Counsel appearing for Khalid sought an accommodation from the bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul on the ground that senior counsel Trideep Pais, who has been advancing arguments on his behalf, was indisposed on account of COVID-19.

The bench, also comprising Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar, deferred the hearing on the bail pleas by Imam and Rehman.

It observed that it would first conclude hearing submissions on behalf of Khalid, a former JNU student, and then proceed to the other accused in the case.

Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad said that all the matters are interconnected as it is a case of conspiracy.

"List (others) on the same date as Umar Khalid. First, we will conclude Umar Khalid then we will hear the others who are part of the conspiracy," said the court.

Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Rehman, and several others have been booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code in the case for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

Besides them, activist Khalid Saifi, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others have also been booked under the stringent law in the case.