The Jamia Police has booked JNU student leader Umar Khalid as well as Jamia Millia Islamia University students Meeran Haider and Safoora Zagar in a case related to the recent Delhi riots over the CAA-NRC controversy. The police have alleged that the students hatched a conspiracy and instigated the riots in Northeastand has registered an FIR under Jamia the controversial Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, along with sedition, murder, attempted murder, rioting and promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion.
The claims that it has found acid bottles, stones, lathis, firearms and petrol bombs in various homes near the riot sites, and that the students had access to these homes. The Rashtriya Janata Dal, of which Haider is a member, claims that the police ‘received orders from above’ to arrest the youths, who had been helping people during the coronavirus outbreak.
The police also blamed the clashes, which left 53 dead, on Umar Khalid, and accused him of ‘delivering provocative speeches calling for women and children to block the roads’ before US President Donald Trump, who recently threatened India with ‘retaliation’ if they didn’t export Hydroxychloroquine to the USA, visited India on an official tour.
During this tough time, the people look towards the government for safety and assurance and affirmative action. With more issues and complications from both the crisis itself and the government’s handling of it popping up every day, the government stands accused of furthering its own communal agenda while citizens in all strata of society languish under the challenges posed by the outbreak.
