Devangana Kalita tells HC: Video evidence shows not involved in violence

NEW DELHI: Activist Devangana Kalita on Thursday informed the Delhi High Court that there was “video evidence” indicating she had no role in February 2020 riots.

Kalita made the claim before Justice Neena Bansal Krishna during the hearing of her plea for a direction to the police to provide her certain videos and WhatsApp chats in two cases, including the UAPA case.

Advocate Adit Pujari, appearing for Kalita, said the arguments on charge were going on and the law entitled her to get the list of unrelied upon documents.

“The law in India today is that: prior to arguments on charge, you should get a list of unrelied upon documents and you should be allowed to inspect it. The judge (trial court) has refused to give me the list of unrelied upon documents and has refused to allow me to inspect. There is a video which shows that I was not involved in violence,” Pujari argued.

Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad opposed the submission, saying there was a connected matter. 

“Let both be tried together. There should not be a conflicting order,” he said.

The court would continue with the hearing on August 25. Activists Kalita, Natasha Narwal, Jamia coordination committee members Safoora Zargar, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others were booked in relation to the riots in the north-east Delhi, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured in February 2020.

Kalita, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi, Umar Khalid and others have been accused of being the “masterminds” behind the violence that took place at a time when the then US president Donald Trump and other dignitaries were in the national capital.